EXCHANGE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/cliosophicsocietOOwillrich 


THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 


A  STUDY  OF  ITS  HISTORY  IN  COMMEMORATION 
OF  ITS  SESQUICENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY 


BY 

CHARLES  RICHARD  WILLIAMS 


PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

PRINCETON 

1916 


i^t\' 


Copyright  1916,  by 
Princeton  University  Press 

Published,  November,  1916 


TO 

ALL  THAT  RECALL  WITH  PLEASURE  THE 
JOY  OF  OLD  HALL  NIGHTS  AND  THAT 
ARE  GRATEFUL  FOR  CLIo's  BENEFACTION 


'  356654 


FOREWORD 

The  committee  constituted,  early  in  the  year  1915, 
by  the  Cliosophic  Society  to  prepare  for  the  proper 
celebration  of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  Society,  decided  that  the  princi- 
pal feature  of  the  commemoration  should  be  the  publica- 
tion of  a  history  of  the  Society.  A  special  committee 
on  history  was  named  of  which  Professor  V.  L.  Collins 
was  made  chairman.  It  is  the  unwritten  law  of  America 
in  regard  to  committees  that  the  chairman  shall  do  all 
the  work.  But  Professor  Collins,  aided  and  abetted 
by  other  members  of  the  committee,  laid  the  burden 
upon  me,  the  least  and  last  of  the  committee.  Always 
loyal  to  Clio,  I  could  not  on  the  instant  think  of  a 
good  reason  for  refusing;  and  so — with  much  reluc- 
tance— I  undertook  the  task.  What  I  have  written, 
however,  has  had  the  careful  scrutiny  and  the  revising 
pen  of  Professor  Collins.  For  all  errors  of  omission  or 
commission,  therefore,  let  those  who  may  read  hold  him 
equally  responsible. 

It  is  my  hope  that  the  sons  of  Clio  may  find  some- 
what to  interest  them  in  the  record  of  the  Society  here 
presented ;  that  it  may  deepen  their  devotion  and  inten- 
sify their  loyalty  to  the  muse  they  claim  as  patron. 
Charles  Richard  Williams 
Princeton,  April,  1916 


CONTENTS 

PAGJE 

Foreword v 

I     The  Founding  and  the  Founders 1 

II     Development  and  Discipline 20 

III     The  Homes  of  Clio 54 

IV     Relations  and  Rivalries 84 

V     Public  Competitions  and  Honors 117 

VI     Insignia,  Initiation,  and  Secrecy 145 

VII     Interests  and  Incidents 166 

VIII     The  Sons  of  Clio 187 

Afterword 211 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Founding  and  the  Founders 

The  Cliosophic  Society  came  into  being  June  8, 
1770 — that  is  to  say,  under  this  name.  It  was  a  re- 
suscitation or  rehabilitation  of  the  Well-Meaning  So- 
ciety which  was  founded  not  later  than  1765.  For 
certain  it  is  that  in  that  year  there  existed  in  the 
College  two  literary  societies,  one  known  as  the  Plain- 
Speaking,  and  the  other  as  the  Well-Meaning  Society. 
Doubtless  other  literary  societies  had  been  formed  and 
lived  for  short  periods  before  these  two  were  consti- 
tuted ;  but  these  were  of  more  permanent  character,  had 
a  better  organization,  adopted  insignia,  and  gave  their 
graduates  diplomas.  Possibly  they  were  in  existence 
before  1765,  for  some  of  the  men  that  have  always  been 
accounted  the  founders  of  our  Society  graduated  be- 
fore that  year.  But  these  men  were  at  Princeton  in 
1765,  pursuing  professional  studies,  and  it  is  not  at  all 
extraordinary  that,  desiring  practice  in  speaking  and 
debate,  they  should  have  cooperated  with  undergradu- 
ates in  creating  the  Society ;  with  their  larger  experience 
and  maturity,  indeed,  they  may  naturally  have  been 
the  leaders  of  the  enterprise.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that 

1 


2  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

no  member  of  the  class  of  1764  is  recorded  as  belong- 
ing to  the  Society.  That  is  hard  to  account  for  if  the 
Society  was  then  in  existence;  much  harder  to  explain, 
indeed,  than  participation  in  the  formation  of  the  So- 
ciety in  1765  of  five  graduates. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  in  that  year  the  young  men  of 
Princeton  desired  to  meet  for  discussion.  It  was  a  time 
of  general  ferment.  As  Dr.  Howard  Duffield,  in  his 
oration  at  the  laying  of  the  comer-stone  of  the  present 
Hall,  June  20,  1890,  said:  "Seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty-five  ushered  in  the  days  that  tried  men's  souls. 
Then  did  arrogant  power  with  insolent  tone  proclaim 
the  Stamp  Act.  Then  was  Boston  Harbor  'black  with 
unexpected  tea.'  Then  did  America  arise  to  'resist  her 
wrongs  and  lay  hold  upon  her  destiny.'  Then  did 
Princeton  students  refuse  to  wear  the  fabrics  of  foreign 
looms,  and  the  'blazers'  of  1765  were  homespun.  Then 
did  Princeton's  commencement  stage  ring  with  periods 
most  eloquent  concerning  the  right  of  independence,  the 
love  of  country,  and  the  worth  of  liberty;  sentiments 
that  were  soon  to  be  proclaimed  by  the  bell-tongue  of  the 
old  Philadelphia  State  House  until  both  shores  of  the 
Atlantic  echoed  with  its  peal." 

For  reasons  no  longer  clear  the  two  societies  soon  fell 
into  disrepute  with  the  Faculty.  Probably  their  in- 
tense rivalry,  resulting  in  so-called  "paper  wars,"  in 
which  anonymous  attacks  by  members  of  one  Society  on 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  3 

men  of  the  other,  of  a  more  or  less  scurrilous  nature, 
found  currency,  had  led  to  excesses  of  conduct  or  con- 
flict that  were  deemed  detrimental  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  College.  Whatever  the  reasons  were,  the  Faculty 
in  1768  or  1769,  soon  after  the  accession  to  the  Presi- 
dency of  that  great  Scotch  philosopher  and  ardent 
American  patriot,  John  Witherspoon,  suppressed  both 
societies. 

In  1841  a  committee,  appointed  by  the  Hall  to  in- 
quire into  the  Society's  early  history,  made  a  report 
which  contained  the  following  statement  from  the  Rev- 
erend Nathan  Perkins,  of  the  class  of  1770:  "When 
I  first  became  a  member  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
(fall  of  1766)  there  were  two  literary  institutions  con- 
nected with  it,  called  the  Well-Meaning  and  the  Plain- 
Dealing  Societies.  The  object  of  the  Well-Meaning 
was  to  collect  the  first  young  men  in  point  of  character 
and  scholarship  as  its  members.  But  the  object  of  the 
Plain-Dealing  was  to  outnumber  the  Well-Meaning.  In 
the  year  1768  or  1769  dissensions  arose  between  the 
members  of  the  two  societies,  and  the  tide  of  unpleasant 
feeling  arose  to  such  a  height  that  the  Faculty  of  the 
College  judged  it  expedient  to  abolish  both.  They 
were  accordingly  abolished  in  1769.  There  was  no 
literary  institution  connected  with  the  College  for  some 
months." 

Whether   the   societies   or   any  proportion   of   their 


4  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

members  continued  to  hold  surreptitious  or  informal 
meetings,  as  some  faint  tradition  suggests,  can  not 
now  be  determined ;  though  no  one  acquainted  with  stu- 
dent characteristics  would  be  surprised  if  they  did.  In 
any  event,  the  need  for  student  societies  for  debate  and 
extra-curriculum  literary  effort  was  not  extinguished. 
It  was  a  period  of  intense  political  agitation  and  discus- 
sion of  fundamental  principles  of  government;  thought 
was  ripening  for  the  fast  approaching  revolt  of  the  col- 
onies. The  young  colonials  felt  that  they  must  have 
place  and  opportunity  for  free  interchange  of  opinion — 
a  forum  for  controversy  and  mutual  criticism.  So,  in 
the  early  summer  of  1769,  former  members  of  the  Plain- 
Dealing  Society,  most  conspicuous  of  whom  were  James 
Madison,  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  and  Philip  Fre- 
neau,  all  of  the  class  of  1771,  and  William  Bradford, 
of  the  class  of  1772,  got  together  and  formed  a  new 
society,  taking  for  motto  Literae,  Amicitia,  Mores,  and 
named  it  the  American  Whig  Society,  reflecting  by  their 
name  their  sympathy  with  and  interest  in  the  liberal 
and  progressive  element  of  British  politics.  Our  sister 
society,  as  the  successor  of  the  Plain-Dealing  Society, 
would  be  justified  in  claiming  the  date  of  the  founding  of 
the  latter  as  the  date  of  its  beginning,  but  it  has  been 
content  to  adhere  to  the  date  of  its  reconstitution  and 
renaming,  June  24,  1769,  as  its  natal  day. 

It  was  the  following  year,  1770,  that  the  remnant  of 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  5 

the  Well-Meaning  Society  came  together  again  and  as- 
sumed the  name  of  the  Cliosophic  Society.  For  fifty 
years  the  Society  continued  to  reckon  1770  as  its  date  of 
origin,  though  it  had  always  regarded  the  founders  of 
the  Well-Meaning  Society  as  its  own  progenitors,  and 
had  accepted  all  its  members  as  entitled  to  its  fellowship. 
In  view  of  this  inconsistency,  and  in  the  interest  of  his- 
torical accuracy,  it  was  decided,  on  the  basis  of  informa- 
tion contained  in  letters  received  from  several  of  the 
oldest  members  of  the  Society  then  living, — ^letters, 
unfortunately,  that  were  neither  preserved  nor  recorded 
in  the  minutes, — that  the  proper  date  of  the  beginning 
of  the  Society  was  not  the  year  when  it  was  reestab- 
lished and  took  its  new  name,  but  the  year  when  it  was 
believed  to  have  been  formed  as  the  Well-Meaning  So- 
ciety. That  year  was  determined  at  the  time,  on  evi- 
dence no  longer  extant,  when  some  of  the  earliest 
members  of  the  Society  were  still  living,  to  have  been 
1765.  The  decisive  action  in  officially  declaring  the 
earlier  date  was  taken  April  5,  1820,  when  it  was  re- 
solved "that  the  seal  of  the  Society  be  changed  from 
what  it  now  is  (1770)  to  the  year  1765."  But  if  a 
record  in  the  manuscript  annals  of  the  Society,  carefully 
compiled  by  David  R.  Love,  of  the  class  of  1858,  is 
correctly  assigned  to  the  year  1816  (and  internal  evi- 
dence indicates  that  it  is),  this  action  was  only  in  con- 
firmation of  the  practical  recognition  and  adoption  of 


6  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

the  earlier  date  some  years  before.  That  record  gives  an 
exact  description  of  the  gold  watch-key  to  be  presented 
by  the  Society  to  such  of  its  members  as  graduated  from 
College  with  high  honors.  On  the  key  was  to  be  in- 
scribed: "Founded  in  1765." 

Professor  Henry  Clay  Cameron  in  his  "History  of 
Whig  Hall"  advances  considerations  of  some  though  not 
convincing  weight  in  favor  of  an  earlier  date  for  the 
formation  of  the  two  parent  societies.  But  the  question 
is  not  of  serious  import.  It  is  certain  in  any  event  that 
our  Society,  in  its  first  form  and  with  its  first  name, 
existed  in  1765.  No  positive  proof  can  be  discovered 
that  it  existed  before  that  year.  We  are  thus  entirely 
justified  in  adhering  to  that  date. 

The  men  who  had  most  to  do  in  forming  and  giving 
character  to  the  Well-Meaning  Society,  and  so  to  the 
Cliosophic  Society,  were  William  Paterson,  Oliver  Ells- 
worth, Luther  Martin,  Tapping  Reeve,  and  Robert 
Ogden.  That  these  men  were  men  of  unusual  force  and 
ability  their  subsequent  careers  abundantly  prove.  Pro- 
fessor George  Musgrave  Giger,  in  his  centennial  "His- 
tory of  the  Cliosophic  Society,"  devotes  many  pages  to 
sketches  of  their  lives.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose 
to  give  a  very  brief  resume  of  the  salient  facts  in  their 
careers.  Of  the  men  just  named,  those  who  accom- 
plished most  in  the  service  of  humanity,  who  attained 
greatest  distinction,  were  the  three  first. 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  7 

William  Paterson  graduated  in  1763,  but  for  some 
years  after  that  time  he  continued  to  live  at  Princeton, 
studying  law  with  Richard  Stockton,  or  not  far  away, 
and  to  keep  up  his  relations  with  student  life,  taking  an 
interested  part  in  the  development  and  activities  of  our 
Society.  Letters  of  his  written  during  this  period  show 
that  he  was  already  well  read  in  literature,  that  he  pos- 
sessed a  lively  fancy  and  wielded  a  graceful  pen,  and 
give  evidence  that  he  had  many  friends  to  whom  he  was 
devoted.  He  had  no  premonition  that  a  great  public 
career  was  awaiting  him.  In  February  1769,  writing  to 
his  dearest  friend,  John  Macpherson  (destined  to  fall  at 
Quebec  in  December,  1775),  he  said:  "To  live  at  ease 
and  pass  through  life  without  much  noise  and  bustle  is 
all  for  which  I  care  or  wish.  One  of  the  principal  things 
I  regard  is  to  be  situated  well  with  regard  to  friends." 
But  this  dream  of  ease  soon  faded  away  in  the  stirring 
times  that  were  fast  coming  on. 

During  the  stormy  years  of  the  Revolutionary  period 
he  was  constantly  in  public  life.  He  was  a  member  and 
one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Provincial  Congress  in 
1775-76  which  drafted  the  first  constitution  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey;  and  treasurer  at  the  same  time  of  the 
Province.  On  the  adoption  of  the  state  constitution 
he  was  made  Attorney-General  of  the  State  and  served 
until  the  declaration  of  peace  in  1783,  when  he  removed 
from  Somerville  to  New  Brunswick  and  resumed  the 


8  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

private  practice  of  the  law.  In  the  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia in  1787  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  Paterson  was  one  of  the  delegates  from 
New  Jersey.  Three  of  his  fellow  delegates  were  also 
members  of  the  Cliosophic  Society,  Oliver  Ellsworth, 
Luther  Martin,  and  Jonathan  Dayton.  Paterson  was 
a  protagonist  for  the  interests  of  the  small  States,  and 
it  was  he  that  presented  to  the  Convention  the  famous 
New  Jersey  plan.  While  this  failed  of  adoption,  it  pre- 
pared the  way  that  kd  to  the  finally  accepted  compro- 
mise which  gave  the  States  equality  of  representation  in 
the  Senate.  Professor  Max  Farrand  (Clio,  '92)  in  his 
able  book,  "The  Framing  of  the  Constitution,''  while 
erroneously  stating  that  Mr.  Paterson  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Continental  Congress  and  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  shows  with  great  clearness 
the  influential  part  that  Paterson  played  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Convention.  He  says :  "Short  of  stature, 
unassuming  in  appearance  and  manner,  Paterson  was 
all  the  more  astonishing  in  debate,  where  he  revealed 
wide  knowledge  and  great  ability." 

On  the  formation  of  the  Union,  Mr.  Paterson  was 
chosen  one  of  the  first  two  Senators  of  the  State ;  but  he 
soon  retired  from  the  Senate  on  being  elected  Governor 
of  the  State.  It  was  while  he  was  Governor  that  the 
new  settlement,  which  is  now  the  prosperous  city  of 
Paterson,  was  named  in  his  honor.     Before  his  second 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  9 

term  as  Governor  expired,  Washington,  March  4,  1793, 
appointed  him  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  which  he  continued  to  adorn  until  his 
death  in  1806.  Many  notable  decisions  came  from  his 
pen.  And,  apart  from  his  judicial  duties,  Paterson 
was  busy  with  many  other  concerns  of  public  interest, 
the  most  important  of  which  was  the  digest  and  revision 
of  the  legal  code  of  New  Jersey,  a  task  undertaken  at 
the  request  of  the  Legislature.  Washington  at  one 
time  wished  him  to  become  Attorney-General;  at  an- 
other, to  succeed  Jefferson  as  Secretary  of  State,  but  he 
preferred  to  remain  on  the  bench.  From  1787  to  1802 
Paterson  was  a  trustee  of  the  College.  On  more  than 
one  occasion  in  these  years  he  presided  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Hall  in  commencement  week. 

In  all  capacities  he  was  a  far-sighted,  clear-headed, 
vigorous-minded,  and  efficient  personality ;  a  wise  states- 
man, an  upright  judge,  a  scholar,  a  Christian  gentle- 
man, a  big  man,  who  left  a  lasting  impress  on  his  time 
and  country.  We  do  well  to  give  him  special  honor  as 
chief  among  the  founders  of  our  Society. 

Even  more  distinguished  than  the  career  of  Paterson 
was  that  of  Oliver  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut,  who  grad- 
uated in  1766.  He  quickly  gained  prominence  at  the 
bar  in  his  native  State,  was  a  delegate  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  which  met  soon  after  the  battle 
of  Lexington,  and  was  throughout  the  Revolutionary 


10  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

War  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was 
one  of  the  delegates  from  Connecticut  in  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  and  a  sturdy  advocate  of  the  federal 
idea  as  embodied  in  the  New  Jersey  plan,  which  Pater- 
son  presented,  and  in  behalf  of  the  equality  of  the  States 
in  the  Senate.  In  the  Convention  he  was  /characterized 
by  a  Southern  delegate  as  "a  gentleman  of  a  clear, 
deep,  and  copious  understanding;  eloquent  and  con- 
nected in  public  debate  and  always  attentive  to  his 
public  duty.  He  is  very  happy  in  reply,  and  choice  in 
selecting  such  parts  of  his  adversary's  arguments  as 
he  finds  makes  the  strongest  impressions,  in  order  to 
take  off  the  force  of  them  so  as  to  admit  the  power  of 
his  own."  Very  great  and  desirable  qualities,  if  you 
stop  to  consider,  in  any  orator,  who  wishes  to  accom- 
plish results.  Ellsworth  urged  the  acceptance  of  the 
Constitution  by  Connecticut  in  a  notable  speech  in  the 
Hartford  Convention  of  1788.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
Senators  from  his  State  and  became,  in  the  words  of 
John  Adams,  "the  firmest  pillar  of  Washington's  whole 
administration  in  the  Senate." 

In  1796  Washington  appointed  Ellsworth  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  held  this  post  until  1799 
when  he  was  appointed  by  John  Adams  one  of  the 
special  envoys  to  France  for  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty 
in  settlement  of  the  controversies  between  the  two  coun- 
tries.    On  the  satisfactory  conclusion   of  this  under- 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  11 

taking,  he  returned  in  1801  to  this  country,  intending 
to  retire  altogether  from  public  service,  to  which  he  had 
devoted  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  his  life.  But 
despite  his  impaired  health,  he  accepted  the  following 
year  election  to  the  Governor's  Council  and  served  in 
that  until  his  death  in  November  1807. 

Ellsworth  was  one  of  the  forceful  and  efficient  actors 
in  the  formative  stage  of  the  Republic.  As  Daniel 
Webster  said  of  him  once  in  the  Senate,  on  quoting  from 
his  famous  speech  in  the  Hartford  Convention,  he  was 
"a  gentleman  who  has  left  behind  him  on  the  records  of 
the  government  of  his  country  proofs  of  the  clearest 
intelligence,  and  of  the  utmost  purity  and  integrity  of 
character." 

Last  of  the  distinguished  trio  was  Luther  Martin,  a 
classmate  of  Ellsworth.  He  himself,  in  his  old  age, 
gave  the  greatest  credit  for  the  formation  of  the  So- 
ciety to  Paterson  and  Ellsworth.  This  he  did  in  a 
letter  to  the  clerk  of  the  Society  regretting  his  inability 
to  act  as  President  of  the  annual  meeting.  The  letter 
is  preserved  in  the  minutes  for  August  2,  1815.  It  is  so 
interesting,  not  only  for  the  information  it  conveys,  but 
also  for  its  old-time  flavor  of  courtesy  and  dignity,  that 
it  is  here  given  in  full : 

Baltimore,  31  July,  1815. 
Mr.  George  W.  Toland, 

Sir : — I  have  this  moment  received  your  favour  of  the 
twenty-eighth  instant  informing  me  of  the  undeserved 


12  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

honour  conferred  on  me  by  the  Cliosophic  Society  in 
selecting  me  President  of  that  highly  respectable  body 
for  their  next  annual  meeting,  and  soliciting  my  attend- 
ance at  that  time. 

No  person  could  be  more  sensible  of  so  flattering  a 
distinction,  and  I  receive  it  with  the  sincerest  pleasure 
as  a  proof  of  your  respect  and  approbation;  but  a 
consciousness  of  my  deficiency  for,  as  well  as  the  impos- 
sibility of  my  attendance  upon,  the  duties  of  that  station 
to  which  I  have  been  so  unmeritedly  selected,  compels 
me,  tho'  with  real  regret,  to  decline  the  honour  conferred 
upon  me,  of  which  I  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to 
notify  you,  that  you  may  not  be  delayed  from  making 
a  more  suitable  choice.  I  had  the  felicity,  for  so  I 
considered  it,  of  being  an  early  member  of  that  [So- 
ciety] ;  but  to  my  distinguished  friends,  who  are  no 
more,  the  late  Honourable  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  William 
Paterson,  it  was,  I  believe,  indebted  for  its  institution 
more,  perhaps,  than  to  any  other  persons. 

Receive,  sir,  for  yourself  and  the  other  members  of 
your  respectable  body,  and  be  pleased  to  communicate  to 
them  my  unfeigned  and  ardent  wishes  for  the  happiness 
of  each  of  them  individually,  as  well  as  for  the  useful- 
ness and  prosperity  of  their  society  in  its  collective 
capacity. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be  very  respectfully 
Your  obd't  Serv't 

Luther  Martin. 

Martin  was  a  native  of  Metuchen,  New  Jersey,  but 
immediately  after  his  graduation  he  migrated  to  Mary- 
land where  he  spent  the  greatest  part  of  his  life.  He 
rose  to  eminence  at  the  bar,  was  Attorney-General  of  the 
State  and  a  judge  at  Baltimore.   He,  too,  was  a  member 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  13 

of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and  with  Paterson 
and  Ellsworth  was  a  defender  of  the  interests  of  the 
small  States.  But,  unlike  these  two  friends  and  fel- 
low Clios  of  his,  he  was  not  reconciled  to  the  final  com- 
promises of  the  Constitution  and  vainly  sought  to 
influence  the  people  of  Maryland  against  its  adoption. 
He  was  an  ardent  friend  of  Aaron  Burr  and  one  of  the 
lawyers  that  successfully  defended  him  when  he  was 
tried  for  treason.  He  was  accounted  one  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  of  his  day ;  but  he  was  constitutionally  a  spend- 
thrift and  he  died  in  New  York  in  extreme  old  age  and 
poverty,  a  pensioner  on  the  bounty  of  Aaron  Burr. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt  ('49),  of  Metuchen,  read  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  1875  a  sketch  of  Martin's  life,  in 
which  he  recalled  that  Martin  graduated  with  first 
honors,  and  said  in  closing:  "He  was  as  profound  and 
learned  as  any  constitutional  lawyer  of  his  day,  but  as 
he  says  himself  was  'prodigal  of  everything  but  time.' 
He  added  laborious  investigation  to  native  genius  and 
had  many  qualities  worthy  of  memorial  by  those  who 
within  these  walls  today  reap  the  benefit  of  his  organ- 
izing mind  and  his  indefatigable  zeal." 

Tapping  Reeve,  of  Long  Island,  graduated  in  1763 
and  was  later  a  tutor  in  the  College.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  President  Burr,  He  became  a  leading 
lawyer  and  jurist  in  Connecticut,  being  for  some  time 
Chief  Justice,  and  for  many  years  conducted  a  law  school 


14  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

which  attracted  many  students  at  Litchfield.  This  he 
started  in  1792.  It  was  the  first  law  school  founded  in 
this  country. 

Robert  Ogden,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  graduated 
in  1765,  but  remained  in  Princeton  for  some  time  after 
graduation,  studying  law  under  Richard  Stockton  along 
with  William  Paterson.  He  practiced  his  profession  at 
Elizabethtown,  rapidly  rising  to  distinction.  He  was 
an  ardent  patriot  during  the  Revolution,  but,  while  two 
of  his  brothers  were  officers  in  active  service,  physical 
disability  prevented  him  from  engaging  therein.  As 
quartermaster  and  commissary  of  stores,  however,  he 
rendered  important  if  inconspicuous  service  to  the  pa- 
triot cause,  displaying  a  zeal  and  resourcefulness,  even 
at  his  own  expense,  in  the  performance  of  his  duties 
which  won  him  great  praise.  Impairment  of  health 
forced  him  into  retirement  when  about  forty  years  old. 
Thenceforward  he  lived  on  a  farm  in  Sussex  County, 
cultivating  and  improving  his  land,  active  in  the  church, 
and  keeping  up  his  reading  of  the  Greek,  Latin,  and 
English  classics.  He  was  wise  in  counsel,  a  good  friend 
and  neighbor — altogether  a  gentle,  kindly,  wholesome 
man. 

A  few  words  may  well  be  added  about  some  of  the 
other  earliest  members.  These  included  Jonathan 
Dickinson  Sergeant  (1762),  a  grandson  of  President 
Dickinson,  who  was  a  Delegate  to  the  Continental  Con- 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  15 

gress  from  New  Jersey  and,  after  removal  to  Philadel- 
phia, the  first  Attorney-General  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania;  Joel  Benedict  ^65)^  divine,  jurist,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  and  Member  of  Con- 
gress; Jonathan  Edwards  C65),  son  of  President 
Edwards,  tutor  in  the  college,  long  an  able  and  eloquent 
preacher,  and  for  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  (1799- 
1801)  President  of  Union  College;  Ebenezer  Pemberton 
('65),  tutor  in  the  College  and  all  his  long  life  devoted 
to  teaching  and  scholarship,  being  for  many  years  at 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  of  which  he  was  principal 
for  seven  years,  and  receiving  honorary  degrees  from 
many  colleges;  Theodore  Dirck  Romeyn  ^65)^  sl  most 
influential  preacher  and  theologian  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  and  a  principal  force  in  the  founding 
of  Union  College  at  Schenectady,  where  he  was  long 
pastor;  Simeon  Williams  C65),  pastor  at  Weymouth, 
Massachusetts,  for  more  than  fifty  years;  Waightstill 
Avery  {^66),  prominent  lawyer  and  politician  in  North 
Carolina,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Mecklenburg  Resolu- 
tions;  Hezekiah  James  Balch  ('66),  likewise  a  signer  of 
the  Mecklenburg  Resolutions,  but  who  died  in  1776  in 
the  early  years  of  his  ministry;  Nathaniel  Niles  {^66)9 
legislator  and  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont, 
Member  of  Congress,  six  times  a  presidential  elector, 
and  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  Dartmouth  College; 
John  WoodhuU  ('66),  eminent  divine  and  teacher  of 


16  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

theology  at  Freehold  for  forty-five  years,  and  nearly 
as  long  a  trustee  of  the  College. 

Thus,  of  the  twenty- two  young  men  who  in  1765 
created  the  Well-Meaning  Society,  who  gave  it  its  origi- 
nal impulse  and  direction, — which  were  carried  over 
into  the  Cliosophic  Society, — fifteen  in  their  later 
careers  became  leaders  in  the  civic,  political,  educa- 
tional, and  religious  life  of  their  time;  several  of  them 
attaining  large  influence  and  leaving  lasting  impres- 
sions behind.  It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  note  that  all  of 
these  first  members,  of  whom  we  have  record,  with  the 
single  exception  of  Balch,  who  came  from  Maryland, 
were  from  the  northern  Provinces.  It  is  true,  to  be 
sure,  that  in  our  Hall  catalogue  Avery  and  Balch  are 
set  down  as  from  North  Carolina,  and  Martin  from 
Maryland.  But  Avery  was  from  Connecticut  and  Balch 
from  Maryland  and  they  did  not  go  to  North  Carolina 
until  some  years  after  graduation.  Martin  was  from 
New  Jersey  and  went  to  Maryland  after  graduation.  Of 
the  number,  eleven  were  natives  of  New  Jersey,  three  of 
Connecticut,  and  one  each  of  New  York,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Maryland.  Of  the  remaining  four 
we  have  no  record. 

Altogether  we  have  the  names  of  forty-five  or  forty- 
six  men  who  were  members  of  the  Well-Meaning  Society 
before  its  suppression.  Of  those  who  joined  after 
1765,  the  men  that  became  most  famous  were  Pierpont 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  17 

Edwards  ('68),  Delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress 
and  judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court  of  Con- 
necticut; William  Channing  ('69),  Attorney-General 
of  Rhode  Island;  James  Linn  ('69),  Delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  Secretary  of  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey; Thomas  Melville  ('69),  a  member  of  the  Boston 
tea  party,  major  in  the  Continental  army,  and  Naval 
Officer  of  the  port  of  Boston  for  forty  years,  having 
first  been  appointed  by  Washington  in  1789  ;  John  Tay- 
lor ('70),  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  phi- 
losophy in  Queen's  College  (Rutgers)  and  later  in 
Union  College. 

It  was  June  8,  1770,  as  already  noted,  when  the  So- 
ciety was  revived  or  reformed,  and  when,  by  assuming 
its  present  name,  it  avowed  its  devotion  to  the  muse  of 
history.  This  date  for  nearly  one  hundred  years  was 
celebrated  annually  by  the  Hall  with  special  memorial 
exercises.  The  men  credited  with  being  most  active 
in  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Society  were  Nathan  Per- 
kins, of  Connecticut,  Isaac  Smith,  of  New  Hampshire, 
John  Smith,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Robert  Stewart,  of 
New  York, — all  of  the  class  of  1770.  All  these  men 
became  clergymen,  the  best  known  being  Mr.  Perkins, 
who  was  pastor  at  West  Hartford,  Connecticut,  for 
sixty-six  years,  and  who  prepared  a  large  number  of 
young  men  for  college  and  for  the  ministry. 

The  men  of  the  first  years  of  the  reconstituted  Society 


18  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

that  in  after  life  rose  to  greatest  prominence  and  useful- 
ness were  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  ('70),  Delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  United  States  Senator,  and  trus- 
tee of  the  College;  Aaron  Burr  ('72),  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  Revolution,  Attorney-General  of  New  York, 
United  States  Senator,  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States;  Henry  Lee  ('78),  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary 
army  ("Light  Horse  Harry"),  Delegate  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  Member  of 
Congress  in  1799,  when  he  was  selected  to  pronounce  in 
Congress  the  eulogy  on  Washington,  in  which  he  coined 
the  immortal  characterization,  "first  in  war,  first  in 
peace,  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen" ;  Morgan 
Lewis  ('76),  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  and 
Attorney-General  of  New  York,  United  States  Senator 
and  Governor  of  New  York;  Aaron  Ogden  ('73),  Chan- 
cellor and  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  United  States  Sena- 
tor, trustee  of  the  College;  John  Ewing  Calhoun  ('74), 
United  States  Senator  from  South  Carolina;  Henry 
Brockholst  Livingston  ('74),  Chief  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  New  York,  Associate  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  succeeding  Wil- 
liam Paterson;  Jonathan  Mason  ('74),  Member  of 
Congress  and  Senator  from  Mass'achusetts ;  Andrew 
Kirkpatrick  ('75),  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  Jersey,  and  a  trustee  of  the  College;  Isaac 
Tichenor  ('75),  United  States  Senator,  Chief  Justice 


FOUNDING  AND  FOUNDERS  19 

of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Governor  of  Vermont ;  Jona- 
than Dayton  ('76),  Delegate  to  the  American  Congress, 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  Speaker  of  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives,  and  United 
States  Senator  from  New  Jersey. 

Several  other  men  of  this  period  did  conspicuous  serv- 
ice in  the  army,  in  the  church,  at  the  bar,  or  in  educa- 
tional work.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  young  men  who  were  members 
of  the  Society  in  those  first  formative  years  of  its 
existence  became  in  after  life  distinguished  and  influ- 
ential citizens  than  in  any  similar  period  of  the  Society's 
history. 


CHAPTER  II 

Development  and  Discipline 

The  Revolutionary  War  brought  dark  and  distressful 
days  for  Nassau  Hall.  It  was  occupied  at  one  time  and 
another  by  the  soldiers  of  both  armies,  who  committed 
many  depredations.  The  College  was  sadly  disorgan- 
ized for  a  time  and  students  were  few.  The  result  was 
that  for  three  or  four  years  our  Society  was  in  a  state 
of  suspended  animation.  In  the  four  classes  1777  to 
1780  our  records  show  only  six  members;  one  each  in 
the  classes  of  '77  and  '79,  two  each  in  the  classes  of  '78 
and  '80.  But  when  the  clouds  lifted  the  Society  was 
promptly  revived.  The  date  marking  this  renewal  of 
activity  was  July  4,  1781 ;  and  for  many  decades  this 
day  was  specially  celebrated  by  the  Hall,  not  only  as 
a  national  holiday  but  as  its  own  second  birthday.  Since 
then  there  has  been  no  interruption  in  the  Society's 
continuous  and  beneficent  activity. 

Unfortunately,  the  earliest  records  of  the  Hall  are 
no  longer  in  existence.  Those  of  the  first  few  years  were 
lost  in  the  confusion  of  the  time  when  Nassau  Hall  was 
occupied  by  the  British  soldiers.  It  is  probable  that 
the  records  of  the  first  eleven  years  after  the  revival  of 

20 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         21 

the  Society  in  1781  perished  in  the  flames  which  com- 
pletely destroyed  the  interior  of  Nassau  Hall  in  March, 
1802;  though  we  have  no  definite  information  on  this 
score.  In  any  event  the  earliest  minutes  we  have  are 
those  of  the  summer  of  1792.  Since  that  time,  with  few 
brief  hall  generation  failing  to  appreciate  their  impor- 
80  carefully  as  they  should  have  been ;  but  still  as  well, 
perhaps,  as  could  be  expected  in  a  body  whose  member- 
ship changes  so  rapidly. 

It  is  a  source  of  lasting  regret,  however,  that  other 
records, — letters,  reports,  catalogues,  books,  insignia, 
etc. — which  now  would  be  of  extreme  interest  in  tracing 
the  development  and  changes  in  the  Society,  have  for  the 
most  part  entirely  disappeared,  the  students  of  each 
brief  hall  generation  failing  to  appreciate  their  impor- 
tance; and  oftentimes,  especially  when  the  Hall  was 
passing  through  periods  of  crisis  or  great  excitement, 
the  minutes  are  tantalizingly  meagre.  The  briefest 
allusion  to  what  every  one  at  the  time  knows  and  fully 
understands  is  naturally  all  that  the  clerk  for  the  time 
being  thinks  necessary.  He  records  the  mere  facts  of 
to-night's  meeting  with  almost  sole  reference  to  report- 
ing them  at  the  next  meeting,  and  with  no  thought  of 
how  unsatisfactory  his  report  may  be  to  some  later 
generation,  when  the  vexing  problems  of  his  day  have 
ceased  to  be  problems  at  all,  and  the  conditions  of  stu- 
dent and  hall  life  have  radically  changed. 


«2  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

The  earliest  resume  of  hall  life  and  conditions  found 
in  our  records  is  given  in  the  minutes  of  the  annual 
meeting,  held  September  26,  1792.  It  is  a  transcript 
of  the  "Triennial  Circular  Letter"  to  be  sent  out  to  the 
graduate  members  of  the  Society.  It  contains  so  much 
of  interest  that  it  is  worthy  of  being  given  here  in  full : 

Cliosophic  Society, 

Princeton,  September,  1792. 

Sir : — It  is  with  regret  that  we  observe  that  the  union 
which  subsisted  between  the  members  of  the  Cliosophic 
Society  has  been  greatly  interrupted  by  the  disturb- 
ances which  the  war  occasioned.  Distance  of  place  and 
the  want  of  information  concerning  the  present  state  of 
the  Society  have  also  prevented  many  of  the  members 
from  renewing  their  former  friendships  and  intercourse. 
This  has  been  cause  of  real  pain  to  attending  members. 
Prompted,  therefore,  by  our  earnest  desire  to  promote  a 
union  so  pleasing  and  beneficial  to  us,  and  requested  by 
several  non-attending  members,  we  beg  leave  to  acquaint 
you  with  the  present  condition  of  our  institution. 

The  members  of  the  Society  are  now  numerous 
(amounting  to  ...  [the  number  was  nearly  forty]  ; 
a  list  of  their  names  is  enclosed),  and  we  are  safe  in 
asserting  that  they  have  obtained  by  their  diligence  and 
ability  a  full  share  of  those  honorary  distinctions  which 
are  conferred  by  the  Faculty  of  the  College.  The  ob- 
jects of  the  institution  are  the  same  that  it  embraced 
before  the  Revolution  and  are  pursued  on  the  same  plan. 
After  an  occasional  interruption  by  the  war,  the  So- 
ciety was  revived  on  the  4th  of  July  1781,  and  all  per- 
sons who  had  belonged  to  it  were   again  enrolled  as 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         2S 

members.  The  papers,  records,  and  library  of  the  So- 
ciety were  lost  amidst  the  general  commotion.  This 
circumstance  has  rendered  the  list  of  members  incom- 
plete, as  the  names  have  been  supplied  from  memory 
only.  The  members  of  the  Well-Meaning  Society  are 
received  as  full  members  on  taking  the  usual  oath. 

The  meetings  of  the  Society  are  held  on  every  Wed- 
nesday for  the  performance  of  the  usual  exercises. 
There  are  also  three  annual  meetings — ^one  on  the  8th 
of  June  for  the  institution,  another  on  the  4th  of  July 
for  the  revival  of  the  Society;  the  last  on  the  evening 
of  the  day  of  the  annual  Commencement  of  the  College. 
It  would  be  peculiarly  grateful  to  us  if,  in  passing 
through  this  place,  it  were  convenient  for  you  to  attend 
our  meetings  and  by  your  presence  contribute  to  en- 
courage and  direct  us  in  our  endeavours  to  improve  in 
literature  and  science.  It  is  our  present  wish  that  the 
intimacy  which  was  formerly  maintained  may  be  re- 
vived and  continued  with  all  sincerity.  And  we  look  with 
affection  to  you  and  hope  by  your  exertions  to  favour 
this  desirable  end. 

The  funds  of  the  Society  now  consist  of  monies  aris- 
ing from  the  entrance  money  and  yearly  payment  of 
each  member  of  the  Society;  from  which — with  the  lib- 
eral subscriptions  among  the  attending  members — and 
from  the  donations  of  absent  members  we  have  been 
enabled  to  repair  the  damages  which  the  Hall  sustained 
by  the  ravages  of  the  war  and  [to]  procure  a  handsome 
library.  We  have  not  completed  the  number  of  books 
which  it  is  proposed  to  render  our  collection  as  useful 
as  we  wish.  To  accomplish  this  difficult  object,  we  shall 
with  pleasure  acknowledge  any  donations  in  money  or 
books  which  it  may  be  convenient  for  you  to  make  to 
the  Society. 


24  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

The  Society,  from  ignorance  of  the  place  of  residence 
of  many  of  the  absent  members,  request  your  assistance 
in  distributing  the  information  of  this  letter  to  such  of 
the  members  whose  residence  may  be  in  your  neighbor- 
hood or  part  of  the  country. 

With  sentiments  of  affection  and  friendship. 

This  letter  suggests  many  observations.  It  is  evi- 
dent from  the  first  sentence  that  in  the  early  years  of 
the  Society  graduate  members  continued  to  manifest 
particular  interest  in  its  activities,  and  whenever  possi- 
ble to  participate  in  its  exercises.  The  number  of  mem- 
bers was  small,  and  it  was  natural  that  the  closest  sort 
of  friendship  and  intimacy  should  grow  up  among 
them,  and  that  their  pleasantest  memories  of  college  life 
should  cluster  about  the  Hall.  We  know  from  other 
sources  that  this  was  especially  true  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Paters  on,  as  long  as  he  lived  in  and  near  Princeton. 
Paterson,  indeed,  frequently  took  part  in  the  exercises 
of  the  Society.  As  late  as  1772  he  read  before  the  So- 
ciety a  poem  of  some  length,  entitled  "The  Belle  of 
Princeton,"  in  which  he  gallantly  celebrated  the  virtues 
and  charms  of  Miss  Betsey  Stockton,  a  niece  of  Richard 
Stockton.  What  the  poem  lacked  in  literary  merit  it 
made  up  for  in  ardor — such,  to  be  sure,  that  Paterson's 
friends  had  no  doubt  that  his  feelings  were  deeply  en- 
gaged. A  few  verses  will  give  the  quality  of  this  fervid 
outpouring : 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         25 

"Hail,    Betsey,    hail,    thou    Virgin    bright 
And  mild   as   the  chaste   orb   of  night. 
Betsey    all    hail!     Rapt    in    amaze. 
Thy    beauties    o'er    &   o'er    I    gaze; 
Feast  on  each  Charm,  each  Charm  devour 
Whilst    stript    of    almost    ev'ry    Pow'r 
Save    that    of    Light,    I    gaze    &    gaze 
'Til   dazzl'd   with   all  Beauty's   Blaze 
I   prostrate   fall;   and  where  before 
I  only  gazed  at,  now  adore. 

Her   hair,   had   might   in   Cupid's   eyes, 

He   sure   would   of   her   Hair   make    Prize 

To    string    his    Bow,    so    soft,    so    fine. 

And   of   the   beautifullest   shine. 

Her  eyes,  on  which  I  gaze  so  oft. 

Are  blue   and  languishingly   soft. 

Full  piercing  as  the  Solar  ray 

And   mild   too   as   the   op'ning   Day. 

Her   Forehead's   polish'd,   smooth   and   eavn. 

Her  Eyebrows  like  the  Arch  of  Heav'n. 

Her  cheeks  are  of  the  Roses  Hue, 

Her  Lips  sweet  as  the  balmy  Dew. 

Her   Lips,   no   mortal   can   declare 

How  round,  how  soft,  how  sweet  they  are; 

Her   Lips,   where   all   the   graces   stray. 

Where   all   the   Loves   delight   to   play. 

Modest  &  candid,  soft  and  mild. 
Of   Temper,   gentle   as   a   child. 
Of  Pity,  full:  the  Tears  still  flow 
When  e'er   she  hears   a  tale   of  Woe. 

Her  temper  calm,  serene  &  ev'n 
As  vernal  Day,  or  op'ning  Heav'n, 
Virtue  o'er   all  her   thoughts   preside, 
Reason    doth    all   her    Passions    guide; 
Her  Passions  like  the  grateful  gale. 
That  fans  the  Lilly  of  the  Vale, 
That   fans   the   op'ning  rose  of  May 
Serves  just  to  keep  the  soul  in  Play. 


26  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Such  are  her  charms:  perhaps  you'll  call 
It  Fiction,  Fancy,  Fancy  All; 
Come   then   th'    Original   and   view. 
You'll  own  the  Copy  Just  &  true." 


It  was  cause  for  genuine  regret  to  the  Cliosophians 
in  1792  that  this  pristine  closer  relationship,  or  "un- 
ion," of  graduate  and  active  members  had  been  inter- 
rupted. Active  members  at  that  time,  and  for  many 
succeeding  decades,  were  always  spoken  of  as  "attend- 
ing members";  graduate  members,  sometimes  as  "non- 
attending,"  but  much  more  commonly  as  "absent  mem- 
bers." Thus,  a  Clio  student,  writing  in  1786,  speaks 
of  seeing  "an  absent  member  of  ours  in  the  [Prayer] 
Hall"  and  of  going  "to  the  stage  house  to  take  leave 
of  an  absent  member  of  our  Society,  travelling  for  his 
health."  So,  too,  in  the  minutes  of  July  25,  1792,  we 
read  of  the  institution  of  "a  congratulatory  address  to 
absent  Brothers  to  be  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting" ; 
the  records  of  annual  meetings  tell  us  that  such  and  such 
"absent  members"  were  present;  and  the  minutes  of  the 
annual  meeting  of  September  24,  1800,  quaintly  say: 
"Mr.  Mifflin  delivered  a  congratulatory  address  to  the 
non-attending  members." 

The  meetings  of  the  Society  at  that  time  were  held 
on  Wednesday  evening  (the  Whigs  meeting  Monday 
evening)  as  they  had  been  from  the  beginning.  This 
continued  to  be  the  day  of  meeting  until  January,  1839, 


DEVELOPMENT  ANH  DISCIPLINE         27 

several  months  after  the  Society  had  become  established 
in  its  new  Hall.  The  change  was  made  after  conference 
with  our  friends  the  Whigs.  From  that  time  on  the 
meetings  of  both  Halls  were  held,  as  never  before,  on 
the  same  evening,  Friday,  and  it  was  arranged  with 
the  Faculty  that  "no  recitation  should  take  place  on 
the  following  morning  before  breakfast."  Besides  the 
regular  weekly  and  fixed  annual  meetings  there  were 
"occasional"  meetings,  as  special  or  extra  meetings  were 
long  designated  in  the  minutes  ("special"  began  to  ap- 
pear in  1819),  at  the  call  of  the  President  for  the  trans- 
action of  special  business  or  to  initiate  and  entertain 
distinguished  guests. 

The  minute  of  an  "occasional  meeting"  of  January  9, 
1799,  can  not  fail  to  pique  one's  curiosity.  It  reads: 
"The  object  of  the  meeting  this  evening  was  to  propose 
Miss  Frances  Smith  and  Miss  Margaret  Morton  as 
members  of  Society;  but,  upon  objection  being  oflfered 
by  some  of  the  members,  the  proposition  was  with- 
drawn." One  can  not  doubt  that  a  most  interesting  story 
lies  behind  this  bare  recital.  We  do  not  know  positively 
who  either  of  the  young  ladies  was.  The  time  was  dur- 
ing the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  son- 
in-law  and  successor  of  the  great  Witherspoon.  Dr. 
Smith  had  a  daughter  Frances,  who  was  at  that  time 
in  her  nineteenth  year.  So,  it  seems  altogether  probable 
that  she  was  the  Miss  Frances  Smith  proposed,  in  spite 


28  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

of  the  fact  that  her  father  was  a  Whig.  It  is  also  prob- 
able that  Miss  Morton  was  a  guest  of  Miss  Smith,  from 
New  York,  and  a  sister  of  George  Clark  Morton  (Clio, 
1795).  Nor  can  we  imagine  what  service  the  young 
ladies  may  have  rendered  to  the  Hall  that  suggested  the 
propriety  of  their  nomination.  Mrs.  Richard  Stockton 
had  been  accounted  a  member  of  the  American  Whig 
Society  because  during  the  suspension  of  that  Society  in 
the  Revolution  she  had  preserved  the  Society's  furniture 
and  records.  So,  it  may  well  be  inferred  that  Miss 
Smith  and  Miss  Morton  must  have  served  the  Cliosophic 
Society  in  some  signal  manner  that  seemed  to  some  of 
the  members  to  justify  the  unprecedented  and  unique 
distinction  of  electing  them  to  membership.  Why  could 
not  the  clerk  have  given  details  in  this  instance  .^^  But 
objection  was  offered  by  some  ungallant  members, — we 
are  glad  we  do  not  know  their  names, — and  so  Miss 
Frances  Smith  and  Miss  Margaret  Morton  were  not 
admitted  to  our  fellowship,  and  we  are  left  to  wonder 
about  the  entire  episode.  We  only  know  that  these  two 
young  ladies  are  the  only  women  that  ever  were  proposed 
for  admission  to  the  Hall. 

"The  objects  of  the  institution  are  the  same  that  it 
embraced  before  the  Revolution  and  are  pursued  on  the 
same  plan,"  reads  the  letter.  These  were  felt,  at  the 
time,  to  be  too  well  known  to  require  specification.  Now 
we  may  remind  ourselves  of  them  by  quoting  a  sentence 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         S9 

from  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Society  in  February, 
1799,  by  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  the  class  of 
1776:  ^'To  promote  mutual  improvement,  to  inspire  a 
virtuous  emulation,  to  cultivate  brotherly  affection  were 
the  primary  objects  of  the  institution  and  have  been 
uniformly  kept  in  view  through  the  successive  changes  of 
membership  for  very  many  years."  Doubtless,  there 
has  been  no  time  since  when  a  graduate  member,  think- 
ing of  the  spirit  and  influence  of  the  Hall,  might  not 
have  used  substantially  the  same  language.  It  is  only 
a  paraphrase  and  amplification  of  the  officially  declared 
object  of  the  Society,  "the  cultivation  of  friendship 
and  the  enlargement  of  the  mind." 

A  stereotyped  formula  in  reporting  the  weekly  meet- 
ings was  :  "The  exercises  were  performed  as  usual"  ;  but 
sometimes  the  clerk  would  add  in  parenthesis  "not  so 
well"  or  "better."  These  exercises  consisted  of  speeches, 
or  "harangues,"  by  the  officers,  declamations  by  under- 
classmen and  orations  by  upper-classmen,  compositions, 
letter  writing,  and  debates.  For  a  time  also  there  was 
select  reading  each  evening  by  six  members  taken  in 
regular  rotation,  and  it  was  ordered  "that  the  pieces 
read  should  be  either  from  the  Spectator,  Lounger,  or 
Mirror,  and  that  the  length  of  the  pieces  be  not  less 
than  one,  nor  more  than  two  pages."  There  was  simi- 
lar regulation  as  to  the  length  of  compositions  ("at  least 
three  hundred   words")    and   other   exercises;    and   on 


80  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

August  8,  1808,  it  was  ordered  that  "no  compositions 
be  read  before  Society  excepting  those  written  in  Latin 
and  English."  Can  it  be  that  some  of  our  versatile 
members  of  that  day  wished  to  employ  Greek  or  Hebrew 
in  their  hall  essays?  And  how  long  is  it,  one  may 
wonder,  since  any  member  has  offered  a  Latin  perform- 
ance in  Hall? 

All  written  exercises  for  the  Hall,  letters,  composi- 
tions, and  speeches,  had  to  be  submitted,  before  presen- 
tation in  Hall,  to  official  Correctors  appointed  from 
the  upper  classes;  and  we  may  be  sure  that  they 
received  thorough  criticism  and  correction.  Composi- 
tions required  by  the  Faculty  had  also  to  be  submitted 
to  Correctors  before  they  were  presented  to  the  pro- 
fessor. Doubtless,  this  system  contributed  immensely 
to  the  development  in  the  members  of  ease  and  correct- 
ness of  composition. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  annual  reports  that 
the  members  appreciated  the  opportunities  for  train- 
ing in  speaking  that  the  Society  afforded.  For  example 
the  report  of  1829,  after  felicitating  the  Society  on  the 
increased  interest  in  oratory  that  had  been  shown  during 
the  year,  has  this  eloquent  paragraph:  "We  cannot 
dismiss  this  interesting  subject  without  adverting  to  its 
vast  and  increasing  utility,  and  pressing  upon  the  minds 
of  the  rising  members  of  our  beloved  institution  the 
beneficial  results  that  must  accrue  from  a  superiority  in 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         31 

this  department.  Our  country  presents  an  extensive 
theatre  in  which  the  irresistible  power  of  the  persuasive 
art  must  always  appear  to  advantage.  Here  where 
emphatically  the  people  rule,  where  reason  guides  the 
helm,  and  Liberty  and  Equality  is  the  watchword,  sub- 
lime eloquence  will  ever  exert  a  powerful  influence  in  her 
[whose?]  proceedings.  The  manly  orator  fereathing  the 
noble  spirit  of  patriotism  and  pleading  the  best  in- 
terests of  his  country  cannot  fail  to  strike  a  chord  that 
will  vibrate  in  unison  with  the  feelings  of  his  audience, 
and  will  thus  enable  him  by  enlisting  the  feelings  of 
the  people  and  giving  a  tone  to  public  sentiment,  to 
command  the  energies  and  promote  the  interests  of 
every  circle  in  which  he  moves." 

The  most  important  feature  of  the  hall  exercises, 
from  the  earliest  day,  was  felt  to  be  the  practice  of 
extemporaneous  debate.  This  gave  opportunity,  as 
nothing  else  could,  for  learning  to  think  on  one's  feet 
and  to  give  ready  and  appropriate  expression  to  one's 
thought.  Professor  Henry  D.  Sheldon  in  his  "Student 
Life  and  Customs"  defines  the  chief  function  of  student 
debating  to  be  "to  prepare  students  for  public  life" ;  and 
he  adds:  "This  aim  it  accomplishes  by  giving  them 
mechanical  dexterity  of  speech,  by  deepening  their 
interest  in  social  and  political  problems,  and  by  antici- 
pating the  rules  and  conditions  of  parliamentary 
bodies."     Moreover,  it  sharpens  the  wit  and  cultivates 


3^  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

the  understanding;  as  a  writer  in  the  London  Spectator 
says,  it  affords  "the  collision  of  taste  with  taste,  of 
intellect  with  intellect,  of  conscience  with  conscience,  of 
spirit  with  spirit";  it  teaches  young  men  to  discrim- 
inate between  true  and  specious  arguments;  and  it 
helps  greatly  in  preparing  them  to  take  part  easily 
and  confidently  in  public  affairs  when  they  pass  out 
into  active  life.  This  is  especially  true  of  those  who 
are  looking  forward  to  the  law  or  the  church.  Many 
a  graduate,  as  letters  in  our  records  demonstrate, 
who,  in  after  life,  became  distinguished  as  a  public 
speaker  traced  back  to  his  practice  in  the  Hall  and  the 
criticisms  of  his  fellow  members  the  beginnings  of  his 
oratorical  power.  A  paragraph  in  the  annual  report  of 
1850  does  not  overstate  the  estimation  of  the  value  of 
the  hall  discipline  which  was  then  entertained  by  the 
members.  "We  would  not  undervalue,"  it  says,  "the 
courses  of  instruction  in  the  College,  but  it  can  justly  be 
said  that  the  success  which  has  followed  Clios  through 
every  department  of  life  is  attributable  in  a  great  meas- 
ure to  the  exercises  of  this  Hall.  The  variety  of 
literary  performances,  the  privilege  of  remark  and  criti- 
cism, and  the  observance  of  judicious  laws  and  regula- 
tions, all  tend  to  develop  and  inspire  with  energy  those 
faculties  which  are  so  necessary  to  success  in  any  call- 
ing." It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say,  however,  that 
interest  in  hall   activities  has   waxed  and  waned  with 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         33 

interest  in  the  hall  debates.  More  than  any  other 
single  feature,  it  has  been  the  barometer  which  indicated 
the  vitality  of  the  Society's  atmosphere. 

From  the  first  the  minutes  have  regularly  recorded 
the  questions  debated  and  the  decisions  rendered.  A 
whole  chapter  could  be  written  on  these  questions  and 
decisions,  as  revealing  the  intellectual  life  of  the  students 
at  various  periods  and  reflecting  the  political,  social, 
and  religious  problems  which  were  uppermost  in  the 
public  mind.  A  large  proportion  of  the  subjects,  to  be 
sure,  has  been  made  up  of  ancient  problems  of  casuistry, 
of  disputed  questions  of  history  and  literature,  of  the 
comparative  merits  of  famous  warriors,  statesmen,  or 
authors ;  but  along  with  these  have  always  appeared — 
and,  with  the  progress  of  the  years,  in  increasing  num- 
ber— political,  social,  religious,  and  economic  questions 
of  contemporaneous  interest  and  appeal. 

The  very  earliest  subject  recorded — and  one  that  was 
often  debated — was :  ''Whether  a  public  or  private  edu- 
cation be  preferable,"  and  we  are  informed  that,  "the 
decision  of  the  Society  was  in  favour  of  those  who  sup- 
ported that  a  public  education  was  preferable."  One 
cannot  help  the  impression  that  not  infrequently  the 
decision  reflected  not  so  much  the  judgment  of  the  So- 
ciety on  the  relative  merits  of  the  debaters  as  the 
feelings  or  opinions  of  the  members  on  the  question 
itself.     Other  early  subjects  debated  were:     "Whether 


84  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

would  it  be  more  advantageous  for  a  young  man  upon 
his  first  entrance  into  public  life  to  endeavour  to  pro- 
mote his  own  interests  or  that  of  the  public"  (March 
^7,  1793)  ;  "Whether  is  the  British  government  justifi- 
able in  joining  the  league  against  France"  (May  22, 
1793)  ;  "Whether  would  be  more  politic  in  America 
at  present,  to  encourage  extensive  navigation  or  the  cul- 
tivation of  unimproved  land"  (May  29,  1793)  ;  "Which 
method  of  living,  the  simple  or  refined,  is  more  advan- 
tageous to  a  State,  not  only  with  a  view  to  politicks, 
but  to  the  great  good,  happiness,  and  prosperity  of  the 
people?"  (June  12,  1793).  "The  Society  determined  in 
favour  of  those  who  supported  the  side  of  refinement." 
June  26,  1793,  the  question  was :  "Whether  would  it  be 
proper  for  the  United  States  to  observe  the  strict  neu- 
trality recommended  by  the  President's  proclamation 
with  respect  to  the  Belligerent  powers  of  Europe."  It 
is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  Society  debating  precisely 
this  last  question  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  years 
later;  nor  is  it  unlikely  that  the  decision  would  have 
been  the  same — in  favor  of  those  who  defended  the 
President's  recommendation. 

A  flood  of  reflections  on  college  life  and  government 
is  suggested  by  the  topic  of  July  24,  1793:  "Whether 
would  the  introduction  of  corporal  punishment  into 
college  be  beneficial."  We  are  not  surprised  that  the 
decision  was  in  the  negative;  but  the  very  fact   that 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         35 

such  a  question  could  be  broached,  much  less  be  se- 
riously debated  by  students,  transports  us  to  a  period 
of  time  and  thought  utterly  alien  to  our  comprehension. 
We  can  only  come  to  some  understanding  of  it  by  care- 
fully reading  the  early  code  of  college  laws;  and  by 
recalling  the  fact  that  corporal  punishment  did  exist 
for  some  time  at  Harvard  College. 

December  24,  1807,  the  Society  debated  the  question: 
"Was  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  politic  ?"  and  answered 
it  in  the  affirmative.  As  early  as  November  27,  1793, 
the  subject  of  slavery  began  to  be  debated.  On  that 
evening  the  question  was  phrased :  "Would  it  be  politic 
in  America  to  abolish  slavery  ?"  and  the  decision  was  no. 
January  14,  1795  the  question  was :  "Would  it  be  of 
advantage  or  disadvantage  to  the  United  States  to 
liberate  the  African  slaves?"  The  decision  was  that  it 
would  be  disadvantageous.  Through  the  long  years 
until  the  Civil  War  the  question  in  one  form  or  another 
was  frequently  debated,  and  usually  the  defenders  of 
slavery  were  decided  to  have  had  the  best  of  the 
argument. 

Other  questions  frequently  debated  were :  "Would  it 
be  politic  in  the  United  States  of  America  to  encourage 
theatrical  amusements  ?" — "Is  it  suitable  for  students  to 
frequent  the  company  of  ladies  ?" — "Is  imprisonment  for 
debt  consistent  with  justice?" — "Are  the  minds  of  men 
more   susceptible   of   improvement   than   those   of  wo- 


86  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

men?" — "Should  atheism  prevent  a  man's  holding  any 
office  under  government?" — "Which  has  greatest  influ- 
ence on  the  actions  of  mankind,  hope  or  fear,  reward  or 
punishment?" — "Was  it  politic  in  Elizabeth  to  behead 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots?"— "Should  the  United  States 
maintain  a  standing  army?" — "Ought  universal  suf- 
frage to  be  allowed?" — "Which  conduces  most  to  hap- 
piness, the  married  or  unmarried  state?" — "Ought 
women  to  receive  a  liberal  education?"  (The  negative 
won,  March  5,  1794.) — "Ought  females  to  be  al- 
lowed to  participate  in  the  privileges  of  the  elec- 
tive franchise?"  (This  was  debated  first  in  June, 
1838,  when  the  negative  was  decided  victorious.  The 
question  in  one  form  or  another  has  often  been  de- 
bated since  then.) — "If  a  pumpkin  vine  spring  up  in 
one  man's  patch  and  run  over  into  another  man's  patch 
and  there  produce  a  pumpkin,  to  whom  does  the  pump- 
kin belong?" — ^Another  whimsical  subject,  more  than 
once  debated,  was :  "Is  a  pig's  tail  more  for  ornament 
or  use?"  The  author  has  a  vivid  recollection  of  its 
discussion  one  evening  when  he  was  a  junior  in  college. 
The  mock  seriousness  with  which  the  young  orators — in 
after  life  to  become  famous  preachers  and  lawyers — 
attacked  the  subject,  the  flights  of  eloquence  in  which 
they  indulged  and  the  flashes  of  wit  or  humor  which  they 
displayed  evoked  shrieks  of  laughter  and  uproarious 
shouts  of  applause. 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         37 

Subjects  debated  in  the  fifties  are  noteworthy.  They 
afford  typical  evidence  of  the  interest  manifested  by 
students  in  every  period  of  the  Society's  life  in  the  great 
questions  of  the  day:  "Are  the  interests  of  females 
advanced  by  women's  rights  conventions?" — "Should 
a  system  of  internal  improvements  be  carried  out  by  the 
General  Government?" — "Is  the  exclusion  of  foreign 
articles  to  encourage  domestic  manufacturers  conducive 
to  the  public  wealth?" — "Which  would  be  most  bene- 
ficial to  the  country,  the  election  of  General  Scott  or 
the  election  of  General  Pierce?" — "Can  the  exercises 
of  the  Lynch  law  be  justified  under  any  circumstances?" 
(Decided  in  favor  of  the  affirmative.) — "Do  signs  of  the 
times  indicate  the  perpetuity  of  our  National  institu- 
tions?" (Negative  won.) — "Should  American  citizens 
give  Kossuth  a  public  reception  on  his  return  to  this 
country?" — "Ought  Cuba  to  be  annexed  to  the  United 
States?"  (Affirmative  won.) — "Was  the  United  States 
Government  right  in  banishing  the  Mormons  to  Salt 
Lake  because  their  religion  allows  polygamy?"  (Nega- 
tive won.) — "Would  it  be  a  politic  act  for  the  Pope  to 
crown  Louis  Napoleon?"  (Affirmative  won.) — "Was 
the  Administration  of  President  Polk  censurable  for 
projecting  and  carrying  on  the  Mexican  War?"  (Nega- 
tive won.) — "Has  the  Government  a  right  to  build  a 
Pacific  railroad?"  (Negative  won.) — "Is  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  Sandwich  Islands  desirable?"   (Affirmative 


38  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

won.) — "Will  the  passage  of  the  Nebraska  bill  be  detri- 
mental to  the  country?"  (Negative  won.) — "Ought  the 
Protestant  countries  of  Europe  to  defend  Turkey  in 
her  struggle  against  Russia,  irrespective  of  right,  for 
the  sake  of  propagating  Protestant  doctrines  in  her 
territory.^"  (Negative  won.) — "Has  a  single  State 
the  right  to  secede  from  the  Union?"  (Affirmative 
won.) — "Should  American  sympathies  be  enlisted  on 
the  side  of  the  Allies  in  the  present  European  war?" 
(Negative  won.) — "Was  Bacon  the  author  of  Shakes- 
peare's plays?"  (Negative  won.) — "That  the  develop- 
ment theory  is  worthy  of  acceptance."    (Negative  won.) 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  so  far  as 
the  subjects  of  debate  give  indication,  the  Society  was 
hardly  conscious  of  the  progress  of  the  War  of  1812 
or  of  the  Mexican  War,  and  that  it  paid  small  attention 
to  the  bitter  controversies  that  attended  the  birth  of  the 
Republican  party  and  culminated  in  the  Civil  War. 
The  members  were  drawn  from  every  part  of  the  coun- 
try and  represented  every  phase  of  political  thought. 
It  was  probably  felt  expedient  as  a  general  rule  to 
avoid  subjects  that  could  not  fail  to  rouse  partisan 
passions  or  to  provoke  sectional  recrimination. 

Until  1862  no  manual  of  parliamentary  law  was 
adopted  by  the  Hall  to  govern  the  mode  of  its  pro- 
cedure. Then  a  thorough  revision  of  the  constitution 
was  effected,  and  Matthias's  Manual  was  made  authori- 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         39 

tative.  Before  that  time  the  proceedings  had  been  con- 
ducted, doubtless  in  harmony  with  generally  accepted 
parliamentary  principles,  under  the  sole  authority  and 
provisions  of  the  Society's  own  constitution  and  by-laws. 
There  was  agitation  for  some  years  in  favor  of  adopting 
a  recognized  code  of  procedure,  but  the  Society  was 
reluctant  to  give  up  the  old  order,  especially  as  the 
graduate  members  advised  against  it.  Indeed,  the  grad- 
uate members  have  always  been  more  conservative,  more 
desirous  of  maintaining  the  ancient  rules  and  practices, 
than  the  active  members.  In  many  instances  changes 
or  reforms  in  hall  methods  and  offices  have  been  made 
by  the  young  men,  although  the  old  members  in  annual 
meeting  had  expressed  their  disapproval. 

One  cannot  read  the  minutes  over  a  period  of  years 
without  being  impressed  with  the  thought  that  the  Hall 
has  been  a  microcosm  of  American  institutional  and 
public  life.  It  has  had  little  reverence  for  the  old 
simply  because  it  was  old.  It  has  wished  every  office 
and  practice,  however  long  established,  to  justify  itself 
in  the  conditions  of  the  present,  or  to  give  way  in  favor 
of  something  that  would  better  meet  the  existing  de- 
mands. So,  through  all  its  history,  by  frequent  recast- 
ing of  the  constitution  and  the  body  of  the  by-laws,  and 
by  innumerable  amendments  to  both,  by  abolishing  old 
offices  and  modes  of  exercise  and  introducing  new,  the 
Society  has   sought,  by   changing  with  the   changing 


40  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

times,  to  keep  itself  alive  and  young,  and  to  meet  the 
instant  requirements  of  the  students  of  each  generation. 
Whatever  the  past  utility  or  glory  of  an  institution  may 
have  been,  it  can  continue  to  be  useful  and  to  gain  new 
glory  only  by  constantly  adapting  itself  in  measures 
and  methods  to  the  varying  demands  and  the  different 
needs  which  the  new  ideas  and  ideals  of  each  epoch  are 
bound  to  create.  The  constitution  and  the  purpose  of 
the  Hall  remain  essentially  the  same  that  they  were  in 
the  beginning,  but  there  have  been  infinite  changes  in 
form  and  method,  in  exercises  and  offices,  to  ass  are  the 
vitality  of  the  constitution  and  to  make  the  attainment 
of  the  Hall's  purpose  easier  and  more  certain. 

For  many  years  the  members  were  required  to  wear 
their  gowns  at  hall  meetings.  This  requirement  was 
abrogated  in  1832.  As  a  general  rule,  the  records  indi- 
cate, the  proceedings  of  the  Society  have  been  conducted 
with  proper  decorum,  and  with  due  respect  to  the 
constituted  authorities.  But  there  have  been  numberless 
exceptions  to  the  rule.  For  example,  the  annual  report 
of  1823  is  pained  to  record:  "Peace  and  tranquillity 
have  been  blasted  by  the  pernicious  breath  of  faction, 
and  these  walls,  sacred  to  literature  and  brotherly  affec- 
tion, have  echoed  to  the  voice  of  violent  contention." 
Ah,  very  human,  very  human,  the  brothers  of  Clio  have 
always  been,  with  all  their  strivings  for  "the  things  that 
are  more  excellent." 


Tapping  Reeve,  Class  of  1763 


[From  Kilbourn's  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Litchfield  County,  Conn."] 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         41 

The  Society,  indeed,  especially  in  its  business  meet- 
ings, has  shown  on  occasion  all  the  characteristics  of 
other  parliamentary  bodies.  There  have  been  stormy 
sessions,  acrimonious  debates,  defiance  of  rules  and 
officers,  secessions  from  the  Hall  for  grievances,  real  or 
fancied,  and  seasons  of  wild  disorder.  Some  of  these 
episodes  were  tremendously  serious  at  the  time,  but 
hardly  one  had  any  lasting  effect.  Moreover,  there  have 
been  times  when  cliques  were  formed  to  control  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  or  the  choice  of  orators,  when  factions 
were  fomented,  and  society  politics  raii  high.  For  ex- 
ample, the  annual  report  of  1831  asserts:  "Under- 
handed and  improper  measures  were  taken  in  order  that 
some  most  intimate  connections  might  be  severed  and 
the  influence  of  friend  might  be  wielded  against  friend. 
The  whole  was  planned  and  executed  with  a  skill  that 
appeared  to  mark  the  last  desperate  struggle  of  disap- 
pointed ambition.  We  allude  to  a  system  of  electioneer- 
ing machinery  set  in  operation  about  the  time  of 
balloting  for  the  periodical  speakers  of  the  Society. 
The  plans  laid  unhappily  succeeded,  perhaps  from  want 
of  due  watchfulness.  Movements  were  silent  and  unsus- 
pected and  probably  would  have  so  continued  but  for 
some  accidental  circumstances  through  which  the  whole 
transpired." 

Such  pernicious  activity  was  particularly  common  in 
the  last  few  years  of  the  long  period  during  which  the 


48  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Halls  had  uncontrolled  authority  in  choosing  the  Junior 
Orators,  and  these  were  selected  by  vote  of  the  Halls. 
Here  was  opportunity  for  every  sort  of  personal  elec- 
tioneering and  factional  combination  known  to  American 
practical  politics.  Great  conflicts  rose,  bitter  feuds 
were  started,  and  turbulent  scenes  were  enacted.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  Faculty  and  Trustees  intervened.  In 
the  fifties,  too,  disturbances  were  caused  and  difficulties 
created  by  men  that  had  become  members  of  Greek 
letter  fraternities ;  and  in  this  same  period  there  was  a 
tendency  for  the  members  from  the  South  to  band  to- 
gether in  opposition  to  the  members  from  the  North  on 
questions  of  hall  policy  and  in  the  election  of  officers. 
All  which  simply  illustrates  and  enforces  the  fact  that 
young  men  in  their  college  associations  are  very  much 
the  same  as  older  men  in  active  life — a  little  more  in- 
tense, perhaps,  a  little  more  insistent  on  enforcing  the 
strict  letter  of  the  law,  but  equally  eager  to  carry  their 
point  and  equally  ready  for  that  purpose  to  form  secret 
combinations,  to  proceed  by  indirect  courses,  and  to 
employ  questionable  methods. 

Not  infrequently,  too,  the  proceedings  were  enlivened 
by  the  presentation  of  frivolous  motions  couched  in  sober 
and  dignified  phrase  and  defended  or  opposed  with  the 
utmost  seriousness  of  argument  and  demeanor,  such  as 
to  enhance  the  amusement  of  the  performance.  At 
other  times  serious  proposals  received  humorous  word- 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         43 

ing,  as  when,  on  September  14, 1816,  the  Society  ordered 
the  purchase  of  six  plated  candlesticks  "for  the  Presi- 
dent's desk  and  its  appendages  to  supply  the  places  of 
the  old  ones  whose  age  and  infirmities  call  loudly  for  a 
respite."  Doubtless  malicious  joy  permeated  the  Hall 
on  the  evening  of  May  20,  1818,  when  it  adopted  this 
resolution:  "Resolved  that  Brother  Collins  should  be 
granted  the  privilege  of  speaking  before  Society  every 
Wednesday  evening  and  of  repeating  the  same  speech  as 
often  as  convenience  would  dictate."  We  are  not  in- 
formed with  what  grace  Brother  Collins  received  this 
covert  rebuke  from  the  evidently  long-suffering  Hall; 
but  we  feel  morally  certain  that  he  failed  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  privilege  so  kindly  granted  him. 

On  December  10,  1852,  a  committee  which  had  been 
appointed  to  provide  better  ventilation  for  the  Hall 
reported  that  it  had  successfully  performed  its  duty; 
whereupon,  in  a  spirit  of  generous  appreciation,  the 
Society  voted  "that  the  two  dollars  yet  in  the  hands  of 
the  ventilation  committee  be  given  to  the  committee  so 
they  can  obtain  stews  and  porter  with  it" ;  and  a  moment 
later  (on  motion  of  Brother  Anderson)  "that  the  com- 
mittee take  Anderson  with  them  when  they  eat  the 
stews."  But  whether  Brother  Anderson  was  to  be  a  par- 
taker or  merely  a  witness  of  the  feast  of  "stews  and  por- 
ter," the  clerk  neglects  to  tell  us.  Evidently,  too,  there 
must  have  been  special  provocation  that  induced  the  Hall 


44  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

on  November  4,  1864,  to  vote,  with  enthusiastic  alacrity, 
"That  an  old  shoe  be  procured  from  which  a  leather 
medal  shall  be  made  to  be  presented  to  the  senior  who 
shall  get  off  the  poorest  joke  or  tell  the  poorest  story." 
On  October  7,  1853,  the  seniors  were  excused  after  six 
p.  M.  "to  attend  the  exhibition  of  the  planet  Jupiter." 
From  the  beginning  of  the  Society  until  the  revision 
of  the  constitution  in  1862,  every  man  on  entering 
Hall  was  required  to  assume  a  fictitious  name,  by  which 
he  was  known  in  all  society  proceedings.  Outside  the 
Hall,  of  course,  and  especially  in  the  hearing  of  a  Whig, 
any  use  of  the  fictitious  names  had  to  be  scrupulously 
avoided.  In  the  earlier  days  the  names  most  commonly 
adopted  were  Greek  and  Latin  proper  names  and  the 
names  of  famous  historic  characters.  In  the  very  first 
minutes  of  a  regular  meeting  that  we  have,  those  for 
July  6,  1792,  these  names  appear :  Alcibiades,  Themis- 
tocles,  Minos,  Galileo,  Sully,  Addison,  Octavianus,  Cym- 
baline  (sic),  and  Cleomenes.  But  gradually  the  range  of 
choice  was  widened  and  we  have  such  names  from  fiction 
as  Red  Rover,  Peveril  of  the  Peak,  Tittlebat  Tittle- 
mouse,  Maltravers,  Tony  Lumpkin,  Corporal  Trim, 
Natty  Bumpo,  Roderick  Dhu,  Sam  Slick,  Paupukewis, 
and  Rip  Van  Winkle;  or  such  appellations  as,  Hard 
Times,  Log  Cabin,  Anybody,  Never  Tire,  Dismal  Jeems, 
Jolly  Potato,  Brandy  Cocktail,  Thumbscrew,  Pompey 
Smash,  Old  Kentuck,  Oconochee  Wild  Cat,  Bar  Creek 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         45 

Baby  Waker,  Nubbin  Ridge  Coon  Hunter,  Possum  up  a 
Gum  Tree,  Stick  in  the  Mud,  Polly  Put  the  Kettle  on. 
Sic  Semper  Tyrannis,  Animis  opibusque  semper  parati. 
What  do  you  do  with  your  Ears,  and  Where  did  Peter 
Piper  pick  a  peck  of  Pickled  Peppers ;  or  such  grotesque 
creations  as,  Mr.  Caesar  Augustus  Mark  Antony 
Swipes,  Esq.,  Noncomatibus  in  Swampo,  John  Ollen 
Bohen  Graben  Steiner  Schuben  Bicher,  Aldeboron- 
defosbiforniosticos,  Chrononhotontologos,  Mistress 
Chefuscumclickclackmanicum,  Triethyladdimethylapro- 
topropylamine,  and  Muleyabenhassankelikhan.  The 
shortest  fictitious  name  was  A;  the  longest,  Histiker- 
juncttillanytitUeoussinctigorrymathycally.  How  the 
clerk  must  have  thought  unpleasant  words  when  it  was 
necessary  to  record  the  performance  of  a  brother  that 
bore  one  of  these  outlandish  pseudonyms !  Sometimes 
strange  groupings  of  names  happen  to  appear  in  the 
minutes.  January  4,  1826,  for  example,  Beelzebub, 
Plato,  and  Hyder  Ali  formed  a  debating  team ;  and  that 
same  evening,  in  another  debate,  Cinclnnatus  and  Flib- 
berty  Gibbet,  supporting  the  affirmative  of  the  tremen- 
dously important  question,  "Is  ambition  beneficial  to 
society?"  won  the  decision  against  all  the  subtlety  and 
craft  of  Lucifer  and  Ulysses. 

Through  many  early  decades  of  the  Society's  life, 
the  discipline  of  the  Society  was  constantly  exercised 
over  the  conduct  and  activities  of  the  individual  mem- 


46  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

bers,  not  only  in  the  Hall,  but  in  their  college  life  and 
in  their  relations  outside  the  campus.  Testimony  to  this 
effect  is  afforded  by  a  letter,  printed  in  Professor  Giger's 
History,  from  an  eminent  Southern  lawyer  who  became 
a  member  of  the  Hall  in  1799.  The  letter  says :  "At 
this  distant  day  [1858]  I  sincerely  pronounce  it  to  have 
been  the  best  society  I  have  ever  had  anything  to  do 
with.  It  was,  as  a  part  of  education,  worth  as  much  as 
the  College  itself,  not  only  in  a  literary  point  of  view, 
but  in  that  of  manners  and  morals.  It  did  much  to 
remove  boyish  habits  and  make  men  of  us, — and  men  of 
sound  and  correct  principles  for  society  in  after  life. 
It  was  a  practical  school,  unequalled  within  my  knowl- 
edge. .  .  .  Minor  faults  in  the  personal  conduct  of  the 
members  were  inquired  into  in  the  most  quiet  and  deli- 
cate way  and  produced  a  gentle  reprimand.  But  it  was 
a  serious  matter  if  anything  like  dishonor  was  involved. 
Deliberately  and  fairly  was  it  investigated,  but  surely 
and  sternly  punished." 

Every  member  was  expected  to  behave  himself  prop- 
erly in  Hall,  to  attend  the  meetings  regularly,  and  to 
perform  all  the  required  hall  duties;  and  equally  he 
was  expected  to  be  a  conscientious  student,  to  obey  the 
college  rules,  and  to  conduct  himself  in  all  relations  as 
a  gentleman.  Discipline  was  enforced  in  serious  cases 
by  official  reproof,  by  requests  for  resignation,  by  sus- 
I)ension,  or  by  expulsion ;  in  ordinary  cases,  by  an  elabo- 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         47 

rate  system  of  fines.  Thus,  for  example,  on  March  27, 
1798,  a  member-  was  called  up  for  bad  scholarship  and 
was  voted  to  be  culpable,  but  this  vote  was  considered  to 
be  punishment  enough.  Two  months  later,  however, 
this  man  was  suspended,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  So- 
ciety, because  of  his  disrespectful  conduct  when  the 
Society  voted  to  suspend  another  member  for  bad  schol- 
arship unless  he  showed  amendment  within  two  weeks. 
On  August  14,  1793,  "it  appeared  to  be  the  general 
sense  of  the  Society  that  Bro.  Alcaeus'  scholarship 
and  character  as  a  student  in  College  were  such  as  to 
render  him  unworthy  of  a  seat  in  this  Society.  It  was 
therefore  proposed  and  agreed  to  that  he  should  be 
desired  to  withdraw  himself  from  it." 

On  December  3,  1793,  two  members  "were  arraigned 
before  the  Society  for  playing  at  cards  and  keeping 
bad  company.  They  were  Seemed  culpable  and  sus- 
pended for  four  weeks."  The  law  of  the  Society  for 
years  was:  "The  attending  members  are  forbidden  to 
play  at  cards  or  dice  or  any  unlawful  game ;  and  playing 
for  anything  shall  be  esteemed  gambling."  On  August 
6,  1805,  a  member  was  "arraigned  for  ungentlemanly 
conduct  towards  his  creditors  in  town,  and  especially  to 
two  or  three  members  of  College  who  had  been  so  kind 
as  to  lend  him  money  sufficient  to  extricate  himself  so  far 
as  to  enable  him  to  leave  town.  The  affair  was  examined 
with  much  coolness  and  moderation,  and  notwithstand- 


48  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

ing  the  exertions  of  his  friends,  the  punishment  of  sus- 
pension was  inflicted." 

Expulsions  followed  gross  breaches  of  discipline,  such 
especially,  as  persistent  evil  courses,  plagiarism,  or 
divulging  the  secrets  or  committing  acts  injurious  to  the 
interests  of  the  Society.  For  example,  Feibruary  27, 
1822,  a  member  was  expelled  "for  wearing  an  indepen- 
dent badge  at  Senior  speaking."  The  account  of  this 
action  in  the  annual  report  for  that  year  is  too  charac- 
teristic to  omit.  "Your  committee,"  it  runs,  "state  with 
pleasure  that  peace  and  tranquillity  have  reigned  almost 
universally  in  this  institution.  The  withering  blast  of 
Faction  has  scarcely  been  inhaled  ["inhaling  a  withering 
blast"  is  good!]  by  any  individual  of  Society.  But  one 
circumstance  has  occurred  to  mar  our  prospects  or 
disturb  our  social  felicity.  And  here  it  becomes  our 
painful  duty  to  mingle  the  bitter  with  the  sweet;  to 
destroy  in  some  measure  that  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
which  the  former  part  of  this  report  is  calculated  to 
produce.  A  circumstance  occurred  during  the  past  year 
which  must  be  peculiarly  painful  to  every  real  Clioso- 
phian.  Some  members  of  the  senior  class,  irritated  with 
some  of  the  internal  proceedings  of  Society,  resolved  to 
wear  independent  badges  while  delivering  their  public 
speeches,  and  thereby  disclaimed  all  connection  with  the 
Society.  The  nature  of  this  offense  in  itself,  your  com- 
mittee presume,  is  well  known  to  every  member  of  this 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         49 

Society;  but  this  affair  was  peculiarly  aggravated, 
being  all  earnestly  requested  by  their  intimate  friends 
to  desist  from  executing  their  rash  designs ;  at  the  same 
time  reminded  of  the  unhappy  consequences ;  but  regard- 
less of  the  admonition  of  their  friends  and  bidding  defi- 
ance at  the  censure  of  Society,  they  persisted  in  their 
determination,  notwithstanding  one  of  them  was  at  the 
time  an  attending  member  of  Society.  The  acting 
members  considered  it  a  breach  of  that  honor  which 
ought  to  distinguish  every  real  Cliosophian;  an  offense 
evidently  showing  a  contempt  to  the  Society  whose  in- 
terest they  are  bound  most  solemnly  to  promote.  The 
attending  members  (knowing  that  at  a  previous  annual 
meeting  it  was  resolved  that  such  conduct  should  utterly 
be  discountenanced)  after  consulting  several  non-attend- 
ing members  and  mutually  deliberating  on  the  whole 
affair,  deeming  them  culpable  in  the  highest  degree,  in- 
flicted upon  them  the  punishment  of  expulsion." 

The  derelictions  that  were  punishable  by  fines,  espe- 
cially in  the  early  decades  of  the  Society's  existence,  it 
would  be  diflScult  and  tedious  fully  to  set  forth.  Every 
slightest  infraction  of  rules  or  breach  of  gentlemanly 
conduct  within  the  Hall  brought  its  penalty.  Until 
1796  the  fines  were  assessed  in  shillings  and  pence,  no 
fine  being  less  than  sixpence.  Fines  were  numerous  for 
absence  or  tardiness  or  overstaying  permission  of  leave ; 
for  failures  to  perform  exercises  and  other  hall  duties. 


50  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

or  to  submit  compositions  to  Correctors,  or  to  have 
speeches  perfectly  committed  to  memory ;  for  using  im- 
proper language,  or  making  interruptions,  or  being 
disrespectful;  for  studying  recitations  in  Hall,  pr  for 
using  books  from  the  hall  library  without  having  them 
covered;  for  reading  before  Hall  a  composition  pre- 
viously read  before  class;  for  smoking  in  the  Hall,  or 
attending  the  meeting  without  gown  or  in  improper 
garb.  On  June  10,  1795,  for  example,  "Brother  Cleo- 
phas  was  fined  9d  for  appearing  in  Hall  without  stock- 
ings, and  Brother  Luther  9d  for  not  wearing  a  cravat." 
Our  guess  is  that  it  was  a  sultry  night,  and  that  the 
young  men  did  not  begrudge  the  fines  for  the  added 
comfort  they  had  enjoyed  in  the  close  and  stuffy  quar- 
ters that  the  Society  then  occupied. 

But  members  were  fined  also  for  all  kinds  of  offenses 
committed  outside  the  Hall.  The  Cliosophians  were 
long  required  to  sit  in  the  west  gallery  of  the  church 
and  were  fined  if  they  appeared  in  the  east  gallery 
where  the  Whigs  congregated.  This  requirement  was 
abolished  in  August,  1797.  Men  were  likewise  fined  for 
sleeping  or  reading  in  church ;  for  missing  recitations  or 
chapel;  for  having  college  orations  imperfectly  com- 
mitted to  memory;  for  taking  textbooks  to  class  when 
not  allowed  by  the  professors. 

In  1799  a  special  officer  for  each  class,  styled  "bill- 
keeper,"  a  name  used  also  in  the  old  college  laws  as 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         51 

synonymous  with  monitor  (the  word  appears  in  no  dic- 
tionary), was  appointed  whose  duty  it  was  to  report 
to  the  Society  the  names  of  those  of  his  class  who  ab- 
sented themselves  from  morning  prayers  (and  they 
were  very  early  in  those  days)  oftener  than  once  a 
week,  and  "to  take  notice  and  report  to  the  clerk  all 
those  who  refuse,  are  stumped,  or  read  off  at  recitation, 
that  they  may  be  fined  accordingly."  On  July  6,  1820, 
it  was  made  his  duty  "to  report  as  absent  from  recita- 
tion, church,  or  prayers  every  one  whom  he  knows  to 
be  absent  notwithstanding  the  party's  name  be  an- 
swered to."  This  thankless  office  was  finally  abolished 
after  much  agitation  in  December  1838,  when  fines  were 
no  longer  assessed  for  breaches  of  college  discipline  or 
other  misdemeanors  committed  outside  of  Hall.  On 
more  than  one  occasion  the  annual  report  has  pride  in 
commenting  on  the  high  moral  tone  of  the  Society's  mem- 
bership. Thus  in  1830,  it  can  say:  "Of  the  morality 
of  the  College  we  can  speak  well ;  but  of  the  morality  of 
our  Society  we  can  speak  in  terms  of  almost  unqualified 
approbation.  In  this  too  we  have  the  preeminence  of 
our  rival.  In  confirmation  of  this  opinion  we  beg  leave 
to  introduce  one  fact.  Of  the  forty-six  students  who 
belong  to  a  Temperance  Society,  founded  in  College  dur- 
ing the  past  year,  thirty-six  are  members  of  this  Hall. 
However  some  of  our  friends  may  differ  in  their  opin- 
ions concerning  the  propriety  of  an  association  of  that 


52  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

kind,  they  must  all  agree  that  it  is  a  good  test  of  moral 
character." 

How  vigilantly  the  Society  looked  after  the  conduct 
of  its  members  is  shown  further  by  action  taken  Jan- 
uary 19,  1814,  when  it  was,  "Resolved  that  if  any 
member  of  this  Society  be  detected  in  clapping,  hissing, 
or  scraping,  or  in  any  other  manner  insulting  the  Fac- 
ulty or  any  member  or  members  thereof,  he  shall  be 
fined  in  a  sum  not  less  than  two  dollars,  admonished, 
suspended,  or  expelled,  at  the  option  of  the  Society." 
Moreover,  in  the  winter  of  1817  several  members  were 
found  to  have  been  guilty  of  participating  "in  the  late 
rebellion"  and  were  suspended. 

This  action  was  in  the  same  spirit  as  that  which  had 
been  displayed  in  March  1809,  when  a  committee  was 
appointed  "to  consider  and  report  such  further  meas- 
ures as  they  approve  in  relation  to  the  disturbance  that 
has  recently  taken  place  in  College  and  to  the  conduct 
they  will  pursue  hereafter  for  the  purpose  of  more  effec- 
tually promoting  order  in  the  institution."  At  the  same 
time  the  Society  appointed  a  committee  to  seek  a  confer- 
ence with  the  Whigs  for  the  purpose  of  devising  a  plan 
for  the  joint  action  of  the  two  Halls  in  using  their  influ- 
ence and  authority  in  the  interest  of  better  order  and 
discipline  in  College.  But  the  Whigs,  while  acknowl- 
edging "the  fallen  and  deplorable  condition  of  the 
College  with  regard  to  order  and  government,"  refused 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE         53 

to  join  in  the  proposed  effort,  declaring  that  they  were 
"not  convinced  of  the  justice  or  legality  of  the  demand 
made  upon  them  by  the  Faculty  of  the  College,  and  that 
they  do  consider  all  regulation  for  the  government  of  the 
institution,  contributing  to  its  prosperity  and  honor, 
of  right  to  be  ordained  and  put  into  execution  solely  by 
the  power  and  authority  of  the  directors  of  the  College, 
and  not,  as  is  here  insinuated,  to  be  the  creature  of  an 
inferior  body." 

Verily,  it  is  a  long  way  from  that  attitude  of  mind  of 
the  Whigs  of  1809  to  the  vigorous  and  efficient  system 
of  student  government  which  in  recent  decades  has  been 
so  successfully  developed  in  the  University,  the  frail  and 
unsuspected  germ  of  which  we  can  faintly  discern  in  the 
Clio  proposal. 


CHAPTER  III 

The   Homes   of   Clio 

The  first  home  of  the  Society  was  in  Nassau  Hall. 
It  was  on  the  topmost  floor  directly  over  the  main  en- 
trance, the  western  of  the  two  small  rooms  filling  the 
front  projection  of  the  building.  The  eastern  room 
was  the  abode  of  the  Whigs.  There  was  a  diminutive 
antechamber.  The  Hall  itself  was  so  contracted  that 
when  the  number  of  members  rose  to  thirty  or  forty  it 
must  have  been  dreadfully  crowded;  and,  with  its  low 
ceiling,  small  windows,  and  closed  door,  the  air  must 
have  been  stifling  at  almost  every  season  of  the  year, 
and  especially  so  during  the  long  summer  session.  No 
wonder  that  now  and  then  a  daring  member  was  willing 
to  incur  a  fine  by  appearing  in  Hall  in  scanty  raiment. 
The  limited  space  was  encroached  upon  by  the  cases  to 
hold  the  growing  library  and  by  the  necessary  desks  or 
tables  for  the  oflicers.  The  room  was  heated  by  a  fire- 
place and  lighted  with  candles  in  sconces  and  candle- 
sticks. There  is  no  record  of  the  quality  and  character 
of  the  furnishing,  except  that  several  settees  were  pur- 
chased in  1800,  "in  order  that  the  Hall  might  be  capa- 
ble of  accommodating  a  greater  number  of  members." 

54 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  65 

So  we  can  infer  that  before  that  time  chairs  were  used. 
The  only  ornaments  mentioned  were  "a  frontispiece" 
containing  the  name  of  the  Society  and  the  dates  of  its 
institution  and  revival  "together  with  its  properties 
and  effects,"  which  hung  over  the  fireplace,  and  por- 
traits of  Washington  and  Adams.  These  latter  were 
in  all  probability  engravings  or  lithographs,  for  the 
"several  settees"  and  portraits  all  together  were  bought 
for  eighty-six  dollars. 

But  all  these  treasures  together  with  the  library, 
which  by  that  time  must  have  had  several  hundred  vol- 
umes (and  would  have  had  more,  "but  we  could  not 
procure  them  either  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York"), 
were  consumed  in  the  fire  of  March  180S.  At  least,  that 
has  been  the  accepted  tradition,  and  Professor  Giger 
so  declares  without  qualification.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  the  minutes  are  silent  about  this  calamity.  But 
a  brief  entry  of  August  17,  1803,  makes  it  seem  probable 
that  the  books,  or  many  of  them,  were  saved.  This  entry 
notes  the  appointment  of  a  committee  "to  cull  useless 
books  from  the  library  and  dispose  of  them  by  lottery." 
It  does  not  seem  at  all  likely  that  in  less  than  eighteen 
months  the  Society  could  have  accumulated  a  new  li- 
brary of  such  'size  and  quality  as  to  suggest  the  need 
of  weeding  out.  However  this  may  be,  the  fire  crippled 
the  Society  and  left  it  without  a  meeting  place. 

It   immediately    obtained    temporary   quarters    in    a 


56  TKE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

house  which  stood  at  the  comer  of  Nassau  Street  and 
what  is  now  University  Place,  on  part  of  the  site  at 
present  occupied  by  the  University  Dining  Hall.     Here 
it  remained  until  September  of  the  following  year,  when 
it  returned  to  its  old  room  in  the  rehabilitated  Nassau 
Hall.    The  room  had  been  restored  and  refurnished,  with 
the  aid  and  counsel  of  Dr.   Maclean,  the  first  great 
scientist  of  Princeton  and  long  the  most  popular  member 
of  the  Faculty.    He  had  been  made  an  honorary  member 
in  1795,  immediately  after  his  arrival  in  this  country 
from  Scotland,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  serve  the 
Society  in  any  way  that  would  promote  its  welfare  and 
usefulness.     When  he  was  appealed  to  in  this  instance 
he  not  only  prepared  plans  for  completely  refitting  the 
room,   which   the    Society   promptly    adopted,   but   he 
assisted  the  committee  in  the  actual  work  of  carrying 
out  the  plans.     The  interest  and  zeal  he  uniformly  dis- 
played in  behalf  of  Clio  were  to  be  exemplified  in  still 
higher  degree  in  the  years  to  come  by  his  greater  son, 
John  Maclean,  during  the  prolonged  period  of  his  serv- 
ice as  Professor  and  President  of  the  College. 

But  this  reestablishment  in  Nassau  Hall  was  to  be 
of  short  duration.  In  1804  the  library  building,  now 
known  as  Stanhope  Hall  and  given  up  to  university 
offices,  was  completed.  The  upper  story  was  set  apart 
for  the  use  of  the  two  literary  societies,  the  Whigs  ob- 
taining the  south  half ;  Clio,  the  north.     Into  these  new 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  57 

and  comparatively  spacious  quarters  the  Society  moved 
in  May  1805 ;  and  here  was  its  home  for  almost  as  long 
a  period  as  it  had  dwelt  in  Nassau  Hall.  The  new  room 
must  have  seemed  at  first  positively  sumptuous.  On 
each  side  was  a  platform  of  slight  elevation.  On  that 
at  the  north  end  were  placed  the  desks  and  chairs  of 
the  President  and  the  other  officers,  resplendent  with 
red  damask  fittings.  Against  the  walls  stood  the  book 
cases,  in  the  next  few  years  to  be  filled  to  overflowing. 
Around  the  room  were  ranged  settees,  and  the  remain- 
ing space  was  occupied  by  chairs.  Curtains  of  white 
dimity  and  red  damask  obscured  the  windows.  The 
floor  was  heavily  carpeted.  Wood  stoves  gave  heat 
until  1883,  when  two  coal  stoves  were  purchased.  Light 
was  supplied  by  a  gorgeous  chandelier,  hanging  by  iron 
chains  from  the  centre  of  the  curved  ceiling,  by  "patent 
lamps," — whatever  they  were, — and  by  candles.  The 
walls  were  covered  with  velvet  paper.  Off  the  Hall  was 
a  closet  for  the  storage  of  records  and  paraphernalia. 
As  the  years  went  by,  and  the  furnishings  became 
worn  and  dingy,  there  were  repeated  repairs  and  re- 
newals, so  as  to  render  the  Hall,  as  one  report  put  it, 
"as  neat  and  convenient  as  was  consistent  with  pro- 
priety." What  more,  indeed,  could  be  asked  for.''  A 
typical  entry  in  the  minutes  is  that  of  August  26, 
1812,  which  records  that  new  curtains  for  the  Presi- 
dent's desk  were  ordered,  to  be  "of  the  same  kind  of 


68  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

cloth  with  the  present,"  and  that  there  should  be  pro- 
cured "tinplates  to  be  fastened  round  the  holes  where  the 
stovepipe  is  inserted  in  the  wall  and  that  they  be  painted 
green."  A  year  later  a  new  carpet  to  cost  one  hundred 
and  eight  dollars  was  ordered  purchased.  It  is  evident 
that  tobacco  chewing  was  a  common  habit  among  the 
students  of  that  day,  for  February  10,  1813,  it  was 
ordered  "that  those  who  use  tobacco  in  the  Hall  should 
purchase  themselves  spitting-boxes"  and  should  keep 
them  in  proper  condition ;  and  that  order  evidently  not 
having  proved  effective,  in  December  of  the  same  year 
the  Society  itself  purchased  twenty-four  spitting-boxes. 
That  must  have  brought  one  within  easy  range  of  every 
member!  On  September  21,  1825,  the  Hall  ordered 
the  purchase  of  "two  silver-plated  branched  candle- 
sticks for  the  President's  desk"  and  directed  that  "a 
new  dark's  (sic)  desk  be  built  in  vacation." 

But  with  the  increasing  number  of  members  there  was 
growing  consciousness  of  the  discomfort  of  the  Hall,  for 
all  its  "neat  and  convenient"  furnishing;  increasing 
complaint  of  its  closeness  and  oppressive  atmosphere. 
This  is  reflected  in  a  letter  received  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Society  in  1845  from  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Ohio, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  P.  Mcllvaine,  who  had  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1816,  regretting  his  inability  to  preside 
at  the  annual  meeting.  He  wrote:  "I  love  to  revisit 
the  College  and  Hall,  where  I  spent  several  happy  and 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  59 

profitable  years,  and  where  my  thoughts  often  linger 
in  pleasing  and  painful  retrospect,  and  it  would  give 
me  real  pleasure  to  recall  the  scenes  of  our  Society  by 
being  again  at  one  of  its  meetings,  except  that  I  should 
miss  the  darkness  and  closeness,  the  sperm  grease  and 
the  faded  hangings,  and  agreeable  associations  of  the 
old  Hall — that  upper  chamber,  where  the  winged  hours 
swiftly  flew  in  pleasant  literary  intercourse  and 
companionship." 

In  the  twenties  the  evidences  of  the  discomfort  of 
the  Hall  become  more  numerous,  though  a  ventilator 
had  been  "inserted  in  the  canopy  of  the  Hall."  Men  of 
delicate  constitution  were  excused  from  regular  attend- 
ance at  the  meetings  because  of  the  hot  and  unwhole- 
some air;  and  others  preferred  to  pay  fines  for  absence 
"rather  than  bear  the  oppressive  heat  and  confinement." 
Then  the  roof  became  leaky,  the  ceiling  was  soaked,  and 
the  plaster  began  to  fall,  while  the  Society's  books  and 
the  furniture,  recently  renewed,  suffered  damage.  Ap- 
peal after  appeal  was  made  to  the  Trustees  for  repairs, 
to  which  only  tardy  attention  was  paid.  Conditions 
were  becoming  almost  intolerable.  The  Hall  was 
crowded  with  mem<bers  and  overflowing  with  books. 
"Our  difficulty,"  the  annual  report  of  1880  declared, 
"is  no  longer  to  find  books  for  the  shelves  but  shelves 
for  the  books."  In  1833  there  began  to  be  talk  of 
seeking  other  quarters  for  the  Society's  library,  which 


60  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

now  numbered  some  twenty-five  hundred  volumes — 
"most  of  them  well  selected  and  well  calculated  for  their 
situation."  It  was  even  suggested  that  the  libraries  of 
the  two  Halls  be  brought  together  in  some  college  room 
and  be  thrown  open  to  the  public,  and  the  Faculty  were 
understood  to  favor  this  plan.  But  the  Whigs  would 
not  listen  to  this  proposal.  "The  reason^^  says  the 
annual  report  of  that  year,  "we,  of  course  are  left  to 
conjecture";  a  clear  insinuation  of  belief  that  the 
Whigs  were  reluctant  to  invite  comparison  of  their  lit- 
erary treasures  with  Clio's. 

In  the  annual  report  of  1833  appears,  also,  the  first 
intimation  that  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when 
the  need  for  another  and  ampler  Hall  must  be  met. 
Thereafter  this  question  began  to  loom  large — the  mem- 
bership now  being  nearly  one  hundred — and  was  matter 
for  limitless  discussion  and  endless  proposals.  Complaint 
was  made  to  the  Faculty,  who  "indeed  declared  that  they 
intended  building  us  a  Hall,  as  soon  as  pecuniary  means 
should  render  it  practicable";  but  that  was  felt  to  be 
a  vain  hope.  It  was  even  suggested  that  a  Hall  should 
be  built  in  cooperation  with  the  Whigs.  But  here  again 
"the  natural  jealousies  which  exist  between  the  two 
Societies  must  ever  prevent  this  plan  from  ever  being 
effected."  Finally,  on  June  15,  1835,  a  committee  was 
appointed  "to  ascertain  the  best  means  of  getting  a  new 
Hall,  and  the  most  preferable  plans";  and  the  annual 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  61 

report  of  that  year  made  a  most  earnest  plea  to  the 
graduate  members  for  assistance  in  attaining  the  de- 
sired object.  The  active  members  declared  their  readi- 
ness to  do  everything  within  their  power,  but  the  burden 
was  too  great  for  them  to  bear  alone. 

The  annual  meeting  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  plea 
and  immediately,  on  motion  of  Parke  Godwin  ('34), 
later  a  famous  editor  of  New  York,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  a  committee  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  in  regard  to  a  site.  This  committee  promptly 
reported  that  the  committee  of  the  Trustees  would 
recommend  to  the  Board  the  appropriation  of  a  site. 
Thereupon  the  meeting  appointed  a  standing  com- 
mittee on  the  proposed  new  Hall  to  deal  with  the  Board 
and  to  take  whatever  other  action  it  thought  proper 
to  advance  the  project.  This  committee  consisted  of 
Professors  John  Maclean  and  Albert  B.  Dod  and  Dr. 
John  H.  WoodhuU,  all  men  of  great  efficiency  and 
loyalty  to  the  Society.  Indeed,  too  great  praise  cannot 
be  given  to  Dr.  Maclean,  later  to  be  for  many  years  the 
honored  President  of  the  College,  and  to  the  lovable 
Professor  Dod  for  the  untiring  zeal,  wise  counsel,  and 
unsparing  effort  with  which  at  this  period,  and  always, 
they  served  the  interests  of  the  Society.  This  committee 
reported  to  the  Hall  in  February,  1886,  that  there  was 
no  doubt  that  the  Trustees  would  grant  a  site,  and 
advised  that  effort  be  made  at  once  to  raise  money  for 


62  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

the  building.  Meanwhile,  the  Whigs  were  feeling  the 
same  need  of  larger  and  better  quarters  and  were  taking 
similar  action  toward  its  satisfaction. 

Already  in  January  the  Hall  had  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  invite  subscriptions  from  the  graduate  mem- 
bers. Now  it  made  every  member  a  committee  of  one 
to  solicit  funds.  Money  and  subscriptions  came  slowly, 
but  there  was  sufficient  encouragement  by  June  1  to 
justify  the  appointment  of  a  committee  on  plans.  Pro- 
fessors Dod  and  Maclean  and  two  members  of  the  class 
of  1887,  Alexander  H.  Bailey,  of  New  York,  and  Joseph 
Branch,  of  North  Carolina  (later  to  be  prominent  citi- 
zens), formed  this  committee.  A  week  later  Professor 
Dod  was  appointed  custodian  of  all  moneys  received  for 
the  building  fund;  and  a  week  after  that  a  building 
committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Professors  Dod 
and  Maclean  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  Wells ;  and  this  com- 
mittee was  directed  to  "proceed  immediately  to  the 
erection  of  the  new  building  when  a  plan  shall  be  agreed 
on  and  an  architect  procured."  The  building  com- 
mittee was  subsequently  empowered  "to  settle  on  the 
plan." 

It  was  not  until  the  following  spring  that  these  pre- 
liminaries were  arranged  and  the  subscriptions  were  suffi- 
cient (about  half  the  sum  required)  to  permit  the  break- 
ing of  ground.  In  the  meantime  persistent  efforts,  by 
letters  and  personal  solicitation  (Mr.  Wells  being  espe- 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  63 

dally  active  and  efficient  in  the  latter),  were  continued 
to  enlist  the  pecuniary  aid  of  the  old  graduates;  but 
the  results  were  far  from  commensurate  with  the  So- 
ciety's enthusiastic  hopes.  Even  the  vigorous  appeal 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  1837  "to  the  generosity  of  our 
elder  brothers  entreating  their  further  cooperation,"  so 
that  "an  abiding,  inexpressible  sense  of  dependence," 
which  indebtedness  would  cause,  might  not  "paralyze 
our  efforts,"  brought  little  substantial  support.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  active  members  contributed  gener- 
ously, and  liberal  appropriation  was  made  from  the 
hall  treasury. 

So,  w'hen  the  building  was  completed,  early  in  1838, 
there  remained  a  depressing  burden  of  debt,  and  there 
were  no  funds  in  the  treasury  to  provide  furniture. 

The  building  contract  had  amounted  to  $7,150;  and 
this  had  been  a  great  bargain  for  the  Society,  because 
of  the  low  prices  for  materials  and  labor  due  to  the 
prevailing  business  depression.  At  the  time  of  the 
completion  of  the  building  in  March  1838,  the  contrac- 
tor had  received  $4,150 ;  but  of  this  amount  Messrs.  Dod 
and  Maclean  had  themselves  advanced  $1,650,  so  slow 
had  many  subscribers  to  the  building  fund  been  in  meet- 
ing their  obligations.  Thus,  the  Society  owed  the  con- 
tractor $3,000,  the  building  committee  $1,650,  and 
had  no  money  for  furaishing  the  Hall.  The  only  offset 
was  certain  unpaid  subscriptions,  the  hope  of  obtaining 


64  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

more  subscriptions  now  that  the  Hall  was  actually  in 
existence,  and  the  regular  income  of  the  Hall  frqm  dues 
and  fines.  But  little  could  be  expected  from  the  latter, 
even  by  cutting  off  appropriations  for  books,  which  was 
done,  as  it  was  hardly  more  than  sufficient  for  current 
necessary  expenses. 

Again  Messrs.  Dod  and  Maclean  came  to  the  rescue. 
They  were  willing  to  wait  on  the  convenience  of  the  Hall 
for  reimbursement.  They  became  surety  at  the  United 
States  Bank  for  a  loan  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  be 
used  in  furnishing  the  Hall,  and  they  satisfied  the  con- 
tractor by  giving  him  three  negotiable  bonds  of  one 
thousand  dollars  each,  for  the  payment  of  which  they 
assumed  personal  responsibility.  Efforts  were  contin- 
uous during  the  next  few  years  in  soliciting  money  to 
pay  off  the  debt.  By  1844  this  had  been  reduced  to 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  and,  by  strenuous  solicita- 
tion, subscriptions  about  equal  to  that  sum  had  been 
obtained.  We  hear  nothing  more  about  the  debt  until 
early  in  1856,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  in- 
quire into  its  status.  The  committee  applied  to  Dr. 
Maclean,  then  in  the  third  year  of  his  Presidency,  for 
information,  the  members  of  the  Hall  at  that  time 
apparently  being  in  complete  ignorance  of  the  matter. 
Dr.  Maclean  promptly  replied  in  the  following  char- 
acteristic letter: 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  65 

College  of  New  Jersey 

Princeton,  March  14,  1856. 
To  the  Committee  of  the 

Cliosophic  Society: 

When  the  present  Hall  was  built  the  Building  Com- 
mittee had  a  settlement  with  Mr.  Charles  Steadman,  the 
builder;  and  they  gave  him  three  bonds  of  $1000  each 
payable  in  one,  two,  and  three  years.  The  first  was  paid 
in  full.  The  second  was  transferred  to  the  estate  of  the 
late  Robert  Voorhees,  deceased,  and  by  his  executors  was 
conveyed  to  the  Trustees  of  the  College  in  payment  of 
certain  moneys  due  to  the  College.  The  third  became  the 
property  of  the  Princeton  Bank.  To  render  the  bonds 
negotiable,  they  were  signed  by  the  late  Professor  Dod 
and  myself,  not  as  members  of  the  Building  Committee, 
but  as  individuals;  thus  making  ourselves  personally 
responsible  for  the  payment  of  the  bonds.  It  was  only 
in  this  way  that  we  could  effect  a  settlement.  Towards 
the  payment  of  these  bonds,  subscriptions  were  obtained 
from  members  of  the  Society  both  in  College  and  abroad, 
sufficient — or  nearly  so — ^had  they  all  been  paid,  to  pay 
the  bonds  in  full.  But  many  who  subscribed  never  paid 
anything. 

On  the  bond  yet  in  the  possession  of  the  Princeton 
Bank  there  is  due  the  sum  of  $180.92 ;  viz. 
To  the  bank,  principal  and  interest, ....  $90.65 
To  John  Maclean,  interest  paid  by  him,     90.27 

$180.92 

On  the  bond  in  the  possession  of  the  Trustees 

of  the  College  there  is  due  the  sum  of 864.57 

with  interest  from  the  27th  of  June  1844 — 

nearly  twelve  years. 
Interest  to  the  27th  of  June  1856  will  amount 

to 616.49 

Principal  and  interest    $1,481.06 


66  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Should  the  matter  be  brought  before  the  Board  of 
Trustees  at  their  next  meeting,  I  think  they  would 
willingly  agree  to  give  up  the  interest  and  receive  the 
principal  by  installments,  say  $100  a  session.  If  the 
Society  should  approve  of  this  suggestion,  I  will  bring 
the  subject  before  the  Board  and  endeavor  to  have  it 
adjusted  in  this  way.  I  will  also  contribute,  should  my 
life  be  spared,  $25.00  a  session  for  four  years  toward 
liquidating  the  debt.  In  making  this  suggestion  and 
these  offers  I  am  influenced  by  a  desire  to  have  the  whole 
matter  settled  in  a  way  that  shall  not  be  burdensome  to 
the  Society  and  at  the  same  time  to  prevent  any  future 
calls  upon  the  members  of  the  Society  not  connected 
with  the  College. 

At  the  time  the  last  subscriptions  were  obtained,  it 
was  understood  that  no  further  demands  would  be  made 
upon  those  who  had  subscribed.  And  it  is  but  equitable 
that  those  who  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  arrangements 
made  by  those  who  preceded  them  should  share  in  the 
burdens. 

Respectfully, 

John  Maclean. 

The  Hall  gratefully  accepted  Dr.  Maclean's  sugges- 
tion, feeling,  as  the  committee  expressed  it,  that  "the 
honor  of  our  beloved  Society  demands  that  she  should 
be  freed  from  debt,  especially  since  a  portion  of  the  debt 
is  held  against  her  by  the  Trustees  of  the  College,  who 
are  composed  of  members  of  our  rival  Society  as  well 
as  of  Clios."  The  Trustees  granted  relief  from  inter- 
est, and  payments  began  to  be  made.  It  was  not  until 
the  beginning   of   1861,   however,   nearly   twenty- three 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  67 

years  after  the  completion  of  the  Hall,  that  the  last 
dollar  of  its  cost  was  paid. 

While  many  sons  of  Clio  contributed  freely  in  money 
and  effort  to  make  the  building  project  feasible,  yet  in 
a  very  true  sense  the  Hall  was  a  monument  to  the  gener- 
osity, the  patience,  and  the  indefatigable  labors  of  those 
two  noble  and  well-beloved  men,  Albert  B.  Dod  and  John 
Maclean.  There  is  ample  evidence  in  the  records  that 
the  Society  at  the  time  recognized  its  obligation  to  these 
devoted  men.  But  this  grandiloquent  passage  from  the 
annual  report  of  1837  must  suffice  for  citation :  "In  the 
name  of  our  Society  we  desire  to  express  its  acknowl- 
edgments to  the  Building  Committee,  to  whose  unwearied 
exertion  is  principally  owing  the  happy  consummation 
of  our  oft-repeated  wishes,  and  to  whom  we  resign  the 
chief  praise,  well  knowing  that  if  unassisted  by  their 
directions  and  uncountenanced  by  their  support,  our 
timid  attempts,  if  we  had  possessed  courage  to  exert 
them,  would  have  been  as  abortive  as  our  knowledge  and 
experience  are  limited."  Which,  one  must  say,  is  very 
handsome,  indeed !  And  when  Dr.  Maclean  retired  from 
the  Presidency,  the  annual  meeting,  June  ^3,  1868, 
adopted  this  resolution:  "Resolved  that  this  Society 
tenders  to  Rev.  John  Maclean  D.D.,  President  of  our 
College,  on  his  retirement  from  the  active  duties  of  the 
Presidency  of  our  College,  the  hearty  expression  of  our 
kind  wishes.     We  recognize  his  faithful  devotion  to  the 


68  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

interests  of  the  College  in  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his 
office  and  his  interest  as  a  faithful  friend  and  brother 
in  our  Society.  We  pray  that  God's  blessing  may  at- 
tend him  and  the  consciousness  of  duty  well  done  make 
his  heart  glad." 

In  this  same  annual  report  of  1837,  the  joy  and  exul- 
tation with  which  the  Society  watched  the  progress  of 
the  building  and  anticipated  its  occupancy  are  vividly 
reflected.  The  project  of  building  had  at  first  ''seemed 
almost  visionary,"  its  realization  impossible.  But  de- 
termination had  triumphed  in  "the  erection  of  an  edifice 
which  would  stand  an  endless  monument  of  the  enterprise 
and  perseverance  of  our  Society ;  a  temple  dedicated  to 
science  and  friendship,  erected  by  the  free-will  offerings 
of  affection  and  the  voluntary  contributions  of  grati- 
tude." Throughout  the  year  feeling  and  interest  had 
been  absorbed  in  the  prosecution  of  the  enterprise.  Whig 
Hall  might  be  similar  in  size  and  appearance,  but  Clio 
had  been  long  in  advance  and  owed  its  being  to  "the 
willing  and  exclusive  efforts  of  brothers,"  while  Whig 
had  had  "the  extorted  assistance  of  aliens  and  stran- 
gers." "And  now,"  to  quote  the  exact  language,  which 
swells  to  a  flood  of  turgid  eloquence,  "when,  after  the 
excitement  of  the  enterprise  has  abated,  we  see  our  beau- 
tiful building  in  sure  evidence  before  us,  we  feel  like  one 
surprised  and  confounded  at  the  substantial  representa- 
tion of  that  which  realizes  some  visionary  creature  of  a 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  69 

wayward  imagination,  or  which  has  had  an  ideal  type  in 
the  bold  conceptions  and  rare  combinations  of  a  dream- 
er's fancy,  and  we  are  almost  compelled  to  suborn  our 
judgment  to  testify  the  veracity  of  our  senses.  We 
know  not  which  most  to  admire,  the  bold  magnificence  of 
the  enterprise,  or  the  untiring  energy  which  has  effected 
its  full  accomplishment.  It  invests  our  Society  with  new 
beauties  and  increased  interest,  as  it  distinguishes  the 
period,  when  discarding  every  remnant  of  weakness,  it 
emerges  before  us  in  all  the  dignity  of  full  maturity. 
It  presents  our  institution  in  an  aspect  which  must  de- 
mand a  modification  of  the  feeling  with  which  we  have 
been  accustomed  to  regard  its  interests  and  cherish  its 
memory,  a  feeling  distinct  from  blind  and  exclusive 
and  sometimes  puerile  fondness." 

Evidently  there  was  a  strain  upon  vocabulary  and 
rhetoric  alike  adequately  to  express  the  enthusiasm  and 
exhilaration  with  which  the  young  Cliosophians  of  that 
day  looked  forward  to  entrance  on  their  new  domains. 
This  came  about  the  very  last  of  March  1838,  when 
twenty  men  were  designated  to  help  move  the  furniture 
from  the  old  Hall  to  the  new,  under  the  cover  of  dark- 
ness, so  as  to  hide  its  quality  as  much  as  possible  from 
the  envious  eyes  of  prying  Whigs.  The  library,  how- 
ever, remained  for  several  months  longer  in  the  old 
Hall,  pending  the  fitting  up  of  the  basement  room  for 
its  reception.     The  first  meeting  in  the  new  Hall  was 


70  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

on  the  evening  of  April  4.  It  had  been  arranged  that 
special  exercises  should  signalize  the  occasion  and  that 
Professor  Dod  should  make  a  dedicatory  address.  But 
this  address  was  postponed  to  the  annual  meeting,  and 
the  minutes  fail  to  give  us  details  of  that  first  evening's 
exercises.  Perhaps  the  several  blank  pages  in  the  min- 
ute book  at  this  point  indicate  that  some  one  neglected 
his  duty  of  recording  the  events  of  the  celebration.  We 
may  be  sure,  however,  that  "a  pleasant  time  was  had." 

The  amplitude,  the  convenience,  the  comfort,  and  the 
dignity  of  the  new  Hall,  as  compared  with  the  old,  were 
most  impressive.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  annual 
report  of  that  year  felicitated  the  Society  on  having  bid 
"adieu  to  the  time-honored  Hall  where  her  sons  were 
accustomed  to  assemble"  and  on  the  fact  that  she  now  sat 
"clothed  in  beauty  and  surrounded  with  every  conven- 
ience in  a  more  splendid  edifice."  The  meetings  now 
were  "seasons  of  mutual  enjoyment  and  their  approach 
was  not  dreaded  as  formerly,  when  health  was  endan- 
gered and  comfort  sacrificed  by  attention  to  the  duties  of 
the  Hall." 

Whig  Hall  was  not  ready  for  occupancy  until  six 
months  after  Clio  was  installed  in  her  new  temple.  The 
new  Halls  were  so  placed  (in  accordance  with  a  general 
plan  for  the  development  of  the  college  grounds,  which 
had  been  drawn  up  by  the  famous  Professor  Joseph 
Henry)  as  directly  to  face,  Clio,  the  walk  from  Nassau 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  71 

Street  leading  past  the  west  end  of  Nassau  Hall;  and, 
Whig,  that  passing  the  east  end.  They  were  architectur- 
ally the  most  beautiful  structures  on  the  campus  and 
long  retained  that  distinction.  They  were  in  the  Ionic 
style,  had  the  same  outward  appearance,  and  were  of 
like  size — sixty-two  feet  long,  forty-one  feet  wide,  and 
two  stories  high.  The  columns  of  the  hexastyle  porticos 
were  copied  from  those  of  a  small  temple  which  stood 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Ilissus,  not  far  from 
Athens,  near  the  fountain  of  Callirhoe.  The  temple  of 
Dionysos  (or  Bacchus),  at  Teos  in  Asia  Minor,  was  the 
model  in  other  respects.  "All  the  forms,"  as  Professor 
Giger  wrote,  were  "simple  but  elegant  and  pleasing." 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  the  portico  of  Clio 
Hall  is  still  standing,  being  used  to  mark  the  entrance 
from  Mercer  Street  to  Professor  Allan  Marquand's 
grounds. 

Of  the  interior  with  its  furnishings,  we  have  few  de- 
tails. We  know  from  the  annual  report  of  1838  that  it 
was  "indeed  worthy  of  being  shown  to  the  world,"  if  such 
exhibition  had  not  been  unlawful.  The  assembly  hall  was 
richly  carpeted  and  the  windows  heavily  draped.  Al- 
most the  last  action  taken  in  the  old  meeting  room  shows 
that  the  tobacco  chewing  habit  still  prevailed.  It  was 
voted,  "That  in  order  to  prevent  the  deleterious  conse- 
quences of  tobacco  juice  upon  the  carpet,  the  building 
committee  be  instructed  to  procure  as  ipany  spitboxes. 


72  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

as  they  may  deem  necessary,  and  that  any  person  spit- 
ting on  the  carpet  shall  be  subjected  to  a  fine  of  one 
dollar."  On  the  walls  hung  many  portraits  of  famous 
sons  of  Clio  of  other  days.  A  great  chandelier,  the  gift 
of  Matthew  Newkirk  of  Philadelphia,  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  18B6,  and  later  a  trustee  of  the  College,  sus- 
pended in  the  centre  of  the  room,  was  the  principal  source 
of  illumination.  Large  wood  stoves  furnished  heat  until 
the  autumn  of  1852,  when  after  some  years  of  agitation 
a  furnace  was  installed.  Already,  a  few  months  before, 
gas  for  lighting  had  been  piped  into  the  Hall  at  a  cost 
of  $230,  the  Society  agreeing  to  pay  10  per  cent  yearly 
on  this  cost  until  the  company  was  reimbursed.  The 
lower  story  was  fitted  up  for  the  library,  and  in  connec- 
tion therewith  a  reading  room  was  established  in  1840. 
Many  of  the  leading  English  and  American  magazines 
and  newspapers  were  subscribed  for,  and  the  reading 
room  was  open  in  the  day  time,  except  during  study 
hours,  on  every  day  but  Sunday.  As  the  years  passed 
by  there  were  frequent  renewals  of  furniture  and  decora- 
tion, and  large  changes  were  made  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  assembly  hall  and  of  the  lower  floor. 

This  Hall  served  the  needs  of  the  Society  for  many 
generations  of  students.  But  in  the  late  seventies,  with 
the  great  growth  of  the  College,  and  with  the  increasing 
demands  of  more  prosperous  conditions  of  life,  its  inade- 
quacy of  room  and  its  lack  of  modern  facilities  evoked 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  73 

constant  dissatisfaction  and  complaint.  The  time  was 
come,  it  was  felt  with  growing  impatience,  when  the 
building  which  had  been  regarded  as  "an  edifice  which 
would  stand  an  endless  monument"  should  give  place 
to  a  more  imposing  structure,  when  brick  and  wood 
should  yield  to  stone  and  marble.  It  required  years  of 
patient  effort,  however,  to  realize  the  Society's  aspira- 
tion. Precisely  the  same  situation  confronted  our 
friends,  the  Whigs,  and  the  same  need  for  enlarged 
quarters  and  ampler  facilities  was  experienced  by  them. 
There  was  thus  again  concert,  or  rather  rivalry,  of 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  two  Societies  in  the  movement 
which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  present  stately 
buildings. 

This  movement  was  started,  or  at  least  received  its 
first  impulse,  in  Clio,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1876, 
when  William  Libbey  ('77)  in  the  annual  report  for  that 
year  dwelt  upon  the  urgent  need  of  a  new  and  larger 
Hall.  A  committee  was  named  which  reported  at  the 
next  annual  meeting  against  the  immediate  feasibility 
of  the  undertaking  in  view  of  the  general  business  de- 
pression. The  subject  was  kept  alive  in  the  next  few 
years  by  frequent  discussion,  but  nothing  was  accom- 
plished. Finally,  the  annual  meeting  of  1883  decided 
that  the  time  for  action  was  come,  and  it  authorized  its 
chairman,  Edward  S.  Green,  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
raise  funds.    Of  this  committee  Professor  John  T.  Duf- 


74  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

field  was  chairman,  and  no  one  can  be  thought  of  that 
could  have  proved  more  zealous  and  resourceful  than 
he.  The  other  members  were  the  Rev.  William  Harris, 
Treasurer  of  the  College,  Caleb  S.  Green  and  Charles  E. 
Green,  of  Trenton,  John  R.  Emery,  of  Newark,  the  Rev. 
S.  B.  Dod,  of  Hoboken,  and  DeWitt  C.  Blair,  of  Belvi- 
dere.  To  this  committee  were  subsequently  added  the 
Rev.  Samuel  H.  Studdiford,  the  Rev.  George  B.  Stewart, 
Messrs.  Bayard  Henry  and  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  and 
Professors  Andrew  F.  West,  Henry  van  Dyke,  William 
Libbey,  and  William  F.  Magie.  The  committee  was 
continued  from  year  to  year,  reporting  at  each  annual 
meeting,  until  1890,  when  its  final  report  was  accepted 
and  it  was  discharged.  Throughout  these  years  it  was 
engaged  in  the  arduous  and  thankless  labor  of  soliciting 
subscriptions  by  correspondence  and  personal  appeals 
from  the  graduate  members. 

It  was  decided  at  the  outset,  after  consultation  be- 
tween special  committees  of  the  two  Societies,  that  the 
new  Halls  should  be  of  similar  construction,  that  they 
should  be  of  the  same  style  and  architecture  as  the  old 
Halls,  and  that  their  cost  should  be  $25,000  each.  It 
was  this  sum  that  Dr.  Duffield's  committee  undertook  to 
raise.  The  task  proved  to  be  even  more  difficult  than 
the  similar  undertaking  of  fifty  years  before  had  been; 
though  the  sum  required,  in  view  of  the  vastly  increased 
number  of  members  and  the  greater  prosperity  of  the 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  75 

times,  was  proportionately  smaller.  At  the  annual 
meeting  in  June,  1889,  the  committee  could  report  as  a 
result  of  its  years  of  persistent  canvassing,  "by  every 
known  method,"  a  total  of  subscriptions  of  only  thirteen 
thousand  dollars^  from  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
persons.  That  was  only  about  one  in  ten  of  living 
graduates.  The  committee  was  most  despondent  over 
the  outlook.  It  feared  the  entire  project  would  fall 
through,  to  the  vast  detriment  not  only  of  the  Society, 
but  of  the  interests  of  the  College  itself.  While  the 
Whigs  were  not  much  better  off  so  far  as  subscriptions 
were  concerned,  three  Whig  graduates  had  offered  to 
supply  what  further  amount  was  needed  and  take  the 
bonds  of  the  Society.  The  only  hope  Dr.  Duffield  could 
see  was  that  some  good  friend  of  the  Society  and  the 
College  would  come  forward  with  a  large  subscription. 

This  report  marked  the  hour  of  darkness  preceding 
the  dawn.  Before  commencement  week  was  over,  Mr. 
John  I.  Blair,  to  whom  Princeton  is  indebted  for  so 
much,  subscribed  five  thousand  dollars.  Not  long  after, 
Mr.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  added  one  thousand  dollars 
more  to  his  already  large  subscription.  Under  the 
stimulus  of  these  subscriptions,  and  through  the  per- 
sonal efforts  and  influence  of  Dr.  Duffield,  Dr.  Studdi- 
ford,  and  Mr.  McCormick,  the  fund  was  completed  be- 
fore the  following  Christmas. 

Meanwhile,  plans  for  the  new  Halls  had  been  sub- 


76  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

mitted  by  Mr.  Page  BroWn  of  New  York,  the  execution 
of  which  would  require  a  much  larger  expenditure  than 
had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  two  Societies.  The  Clio 
committee  was  in  favor  of  adhering  to  the  $25,000 
limit  and  wished  for  a  modification  of  the  plans.  But 
the  Whigs  adopted  the  Brown  plans  and  let  the  contract 
for  a  marble  structure.  The  prospective  total  cost  of 
construction  would  be  in  excess  of  $40,000.  Of  course, 
Clio  was  not  to  be  outdone  by  Whig,  even  if  the  Trustees 
had  not  insisted  that  the  buildings  should  be  alike.  The 
Brown  plans  were  therefore  adopted  and  preparations 
were  made  to  begin  building. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  1890  (June  10),  the  sub- 
scriptions, then  amounting  to  $27,000,  were  increased 
to  $31,000,  and  committees  on  finance  and  building  were 
appointed.  The  Hon.  Caleb  S.  Green  was  made  chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee.  The  other  members 
were  Mr.  Charles  E.  Green,  Treasurer,  Professor  John 
T.  Duffield,  and  Messrs.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  and 
Bayard  Henry.  This  committee  was  authorized  to  issue 
bonds  for  whatever  sum  was  needed  in  excess  of  the  sub- 
scriptions. The  BuUding  Committee  was  composed  of 
Professor  Cyrus  F.  Brackett,  chairman.  Professors  An- 
drew F.  West,  William  F.  Magie,  and  William  Libbey, 
and  Messrs.  E.  C.  Osborn  and  Leroy  H.  Anderson.  The 
two  committees  worked  together  in  perfect  harmony; 
indeed  virtually  coalesced  and  acted  as  one  body.    Some 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  77 

of  the  men  appointed  dropped  out  of  active  participa- 
tion in  the  work  and  there  were  added  Messrs.  DeWitt 
C.  Blair,  Wm.  B.  Hornblower,  and  Henry  G.  Duffield. 

The  men  who  gave  most  time  and  thought  to  the  enter- 
prise, who  were  most  active  in  carrying  it  to  a  pros- 
perous conclusion,  were  Messrs.  Charles  E.  Green, 
McCormick,  and  Henry,  and  Professors  Magie  and 
Libbey.  The  zeal  they  displayed,  the  amount  of  work 
they  did,  the  care  and  responsibility  they  assumed,  can 
only  be  appreciated  by  examining  the  records.  To  them 
particularly  the  Society  owes  lasting  recognition  and 
gratitude. 

In  the  spring  of  1890  the  old  Hall  was  demolished. 
The  library  was  stored  in  Dickinson  Hall  and  the  Col- 
lege Library,  and  the  meetings  of  the  Society  were  held 
during  construction  in  the  old  chapel.  The  official 
home  of  the  Society,  however,  throughout  this  period, 
was  in  the  upper  room  of  Stanhope  Hall  which  had  housed 
the  Society  from  1805  to  1838.  There  the  records  and 
some  of  the  books  were  kept ;  there  the  committees  were 
accustomed  to  meet;  there  all  the  Society's  activities 
except  the  regular  meetings  were  carried  forward. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  Hall  was  laid  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  20,  1890,  simultaneously  with  the 
laying  of  the  Whig  comer-stone.  A  joint  procession 
of  the  alumni  of  the  two  Halls,  in  separate  parallel 
bodies,  was  formed  in  front  of  University  Hall,   and 


78  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

marched  down  Nassau  Street,  Dr.  McCosh  heading  the 
Whig  and  President  Patton  the  Clio,  to  the  two  en- 
trances to  the  campus  leading  to  the  Halls.  The  under- 
graduates of  each  Society  lined  the  respective  walks  and 
fell  in  behind  the  graduates.  The  heads  of  the  two  parts 
of  the  procession,  which  divided  at  Nassau  Street, 
reached  their  goals  at  the  same  moment.  The  platform 
at  Clio  was  filled  with  distinguished  alumni  and  honor- 
ary members.  Among  them  were  President  Patton, 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick  ('79),  who  had  presided  earlier  in 
the  day  at  the  annual  meeting,  Samuel  H.  Pennington, 
M.D.  ('^5),  the  Rev.  Albert  Williams  ('29),  the  Hon. 
William  Paterson  ('35),  grandson  of  the  William  Pater- 
son  who  had  so  large  a  part  in  founding  the  Society, 
the  Rev.  John  Rodgers  ('41),  Professor  J.  S.  Schanck 
('40),  Professor  John  T.  Duffield  ('41),  DeWitt  C. 
Blair  ('56),  Charles  E.  Green  ('60),  and  the  Rev.  David 
R.  Frazer,  D.D.  ('61). 

The  doxology  was  sung  by  the  combined  assemblage 
and  prayer  was  offered  by  Dr.  McCosh,  and  then  the 
ceremonies  of  each  Hall  proceeded  separately.  Presi- 
dent Patton  laid  the  corner-stone  for  Clio,  using  a  silver 
trowel,  appropriately  inscribed,  which  Dr.  Duffield  had 
had  made  for  the  occasion,  and  which  two  years  later  he 
presented  to  the  Hall.  In  the  comer-stone  was  placed  a 
copper  box,  hermetically  sealed,  containing  the  follow- 
ing books  and  papers : 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  79 

President  Maclean's  History  of  the  College; 
Professor  Giger's  History  of  the  Society ; 
General  Catalogue  of  the  College  of  1886; 
Annual  Catalogues  1886  to  1890; 
General  Catalogue  of  the  Seminary ; 
Annual  Catalogue  of  the  Seminary  1889-90; 
A  list  of  the  names  of  the  Building  Committee; 
Photographs  of  the  College  Buildings ; 
Photographs   of   Presidents   Maclean,   McCosh,   and 

Patton ; 
Honor  List  and  commencement  appointments  of  the 

class  of  '90; 
The  Nassau  Literary  Magazine; 
The  Princetonian ; 
Bric-a-Brac  of  1889-'90 ; 
Princeton  Press,  May  24,   1890,   containing  article 

on  the  date  of  the  Society's  origin. 

When  the  stone  had  been  declared  well  and  duly  laid, 
the  Rev.  Howard  Duffield,  D.D.  ('78),  delivered  an  ad- 
dress, in  which  the  spirit,  the  glory,  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  Society  were  portrayed  in  periods  of 
glowing  eloquence.  The  orator  reached  his  climax  in 
his  peroration  which  evoked  enthusiastic  applause.  His 
words  were: 

Our  Fraternity  triumphantly  challenges  the  wasting 
power  of  the  years.  Its  elemental  principles  compel 
Time  to  pay  tribute  unto  them.  The  culture  that  in- 
heres in  its  name,  the  vigor  displayed  in  its  history,  the 
soul  force  developed  under  its  discipline,  are  ever 
strengthening  and  broadening  and  casting  off  all  swath- 
ing bands.     Yonder  relic   [of  the  old  Hall]   is  but  a 


80  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

stepping-stone  of  the  Society's  dead  self,  on  which  it 
rises  unto  higher  things.  And  as  with  heartfelt  joy  we 
cross  the  threshold  of  the  radiant  future,  as  with  exul- 
tant hearts  we  stand  beside  this  stone,  that  carries  in 
its  bosom  the  pledge  of  a  career  that  shall  outshine  the 
glories  of  the  past,  in  the  fullness  of  our  confident  de- 
sire, we  are  fain  to  cry  aloud: 

Hail,  O  Clio,  honored  and  well-beloved!  O  Muse 
benign,  all  Hail!  To  thee  we  bow  with  renewed  devo- 
tion. From  thee  we  draw  fresh  inspiration.  For  thee 
thy  loyal  children  seek  to  rear  a  stately  shrine.  In  the 
days  that  are  to  come,  may  a  continual  throng  of  thy 
loyal  sons,  ever  mindful  of  thy  kindly  nurture,  hither 
return  to  deck  thy  walls  with  the  shields  of  their  vic- 
torious achievement.  May  earth  become  brighter,  and 
humanity's  cup  sweeter,  as  thy  children  spread  wider  the 
spirit  of  that  sublime  legend,  in  whose  meaning  thou  dost 
school  them, — Prodesse  quam  Conspici- 

But  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  was  only  a  begin- 
ning. There  were  difficult  days  ahead  for  the  committee. 
It  was  not  until  July  1891  that  the  contract  for  con- 
struction was  let.  It  then  became  apparent  that  the  cost 
was  going  to  be  far  in  excess  of  the  amount  subscribed. 
The  committee  authorized  the  issuance  of  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $^5,000.  Mr.  Blair  took  $5,000,  Mr.  Mc- 
Cormick  $4,000,  and  Mr.  Henry  $^,000;  while  some 
friend  of  the  Hall,  whose  name  was  not  revealed, 
guaranteed  the  sum  of  $4,000.  At  the  annual  meeting 
of  189^  the  Building  Committee  reported  that  many 
of  the  alumni  were  unwilling  to  subscribe  as  long  as 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  81 

bonds  were  outstanding;  that  thereupon  Mr.  Blair  had 
generously  agreed  to  cancel  his  bonds,  provided  the 
other  bondholders  would  do  the  same  and  the  guaran- 
teed $4,000  was  paid;  and  that  Messrs.  McCormick, 
Henry,  and  the  unnamed  guarantor  would  meet  this 
condition,  in  case  the  members  of  Hall,  alumni  and 
undergraduates,  would  now  raise  the  additional  sum  of 
$10,000.  The  $25,000  thus  secured  would,  it  was 
thought,  with  the  $33,000  already  subscribed,  com- 
pletely finish  the  Hall  and  leave  the  Society  free  of 
debt,  so  that  it  should  "be  able  to  go  on  doing  the  im- 
portant work  it  has  always  done  in  Princeton  College." 
This  generous  offer  and  appeal  was  not  made  in  vain. 
The  brief  minute  of  the  annual  meeting  tells  the  story : 
"After  some  preparatory  remarks  the  entire  amount 
necessary  to  complete  the  Hall  was  raised  amid  great 
enthusiasm."  It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  it  would 
never  be  necessary  again  to  appeal  to  the  annual 
meeting  for  money,  but  a  year  later,  on  the  report  of 
progress  by  the  committee,  "the  sum  of  $5,000  was 
generously  raised  for  the  liquidation  of  unexpected  de- 
ficiencies." It  was  not  till  the  annual  meeting  of  1895 
that  the  committee  could  make  its  final  report  and  ask  to 
be  discharged.  Then  it  could  say  that  the  work  begun 
ten  years  before  had  been  brought  to  a  successful  end, 
that  "the  building  was  finished  and  furnished  as  far  as 
possible."    The  report  of  the  treasurer  showed  the  total 


82  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

cost  of  the  building  and  furnishing  had  been  just  over 
$66,000  and  that  there  remained  in  his  hands  a  balance 
of  $252.13.  It  was  at  once  voted  to  use  this  balance 
to  obtain  the  memorial  tablets  of  bronze  that  now  adorn 
the  Hall.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  meeting,  in  discharg- 
ing the  committee,  which  had  labored  so  long,  so 
patiently,  and  so  efficiently,  passed  a  resolution  expres- 
sive of  the  "deep  and  lasting  gratitude  of  the  Hall  for 
the  great  work  they  had  accomplished." 

While  the  completion  of  the  Hall  was  delayed,  its 
construction  was  so  far  advanced  as  to  permit  its  occu- 
pancy in  June  189^.  The  first  meeting  in  the  Hall  was 
on  June  8,  which  by  a  fortunate,  but  apparently  fortui- 
tous, coincidence  was  the  anniversary  of  the  reconsti- 
tuting of  the  Society  in  1770 ;  the  day  so  long  annually 
celebrated  with  commemorative  exercises.  Nothing  out 
of  the  ordinary  marked  this  first  meeting.  The  real 
dedication,  though  not  so  in  name,  came  a  week  later 
at  the  annual  meeting  when,  as  already  noted,  the  mem- 
bers present,  rejoicing  in  the  Society's  new  and  splen- 
did abode,  contributed  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the 
building  fund,  and  Messrs.  Blair,  McCormick,  Henry, 
and  the  unnamed  friend  declared  their  more  than  gen- 
erous benefaction. 

No  extended  description  of  the  Halls  is  required. 
They  follow  pretty  closely  the  lines  of  the  buildings  they 
replaced,  only  they  are  much  larger  in  all  their  pro- 


THE  HOMES  OF  CLIO  83 

portions.  They  have  three  stories  instead  of  two  and 
are  wider  and  deeper.  They  are  the  only  structures  of 
marble  on  the  campus ;  the  only  structures  that  exem- 
plify Greek  architecture — and  this  they  do  in  altogether 
worthy  fashion.  They  stand  somewhat  nearer  each 
other  than  the  old  Halls  stood — noble  and  conspicuous 
sentinels  of  the  two  southern  angles  of  the  historic 
cannon  quadrangle,  on  whose  northern  side  rises  ivy- 
covered  Old  Nassau,  the  venerable  and  venerated  mother 
of  us  all.  In  its  interior  arrangements,  facilities,  and 
furnishing,  the  present  home  of  Clio,  like  its  prototype, 
is  "indeed  worthy  of  being  shown  to  the  world,"  and  such 
exhibition  is  no  longer  unlawful.  If  it  is  not — any 
more  than  was  its  predecessor — "an  edifice  which  will 
stand  an  endless  monument,"  its  solidity  of  construc- 
tion and  the  durability  of  its  material  give  promise  that 
it  will  continue  to  afford  shelter  for  the  votaries  of  Clio 
through  innumerable  student  generations. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Relations  and  Rivaleies 

The  American  Whig  and  Cliosopbic  Societies  have 
long  been  a  distinctive  feature  of  Princeton  College  and 
University  life.  In  earlier  times  similar  societies  flour- 
ished at  other  colleges ;  but  in  all  the  older  institutions, 
at  least,  they  gradually  lost  vitality  and  disappeared 
under  the  disintegrating  influence  of  the  Greek  letter 
fraternities.  It  was  only  by  heroic  and  long-continued 
efforts  of  Trustees  and  Faculty,  to  which  Whig  and 
Clio  gave  effectual  support,  that  the  Greek  incursion 
of  Princeton  was  resisted  and  finally  repelled.  Other- 
wise, doubtless.  Whig  and  Clio  would  long  ago  have 
suffered  the  same  fate  that  befel  the  great  literary  and 
debating  societies  of  other  colleges.  As  it  is  they  re- 
main, the  oldest  literary  societies  in  America. 

The  two  Societies  were  created  by  the  same  impulse 
and  have  always  had  much  the  same  ideals  and  purposes. 
Their  members  were  first  of  all  loyal  sons  of  a  common 
fostering  mother.  They  were  simply  two  branches  of 
the  same  family,  acting  separately  and  in  emulation  for 
the  better  attainment  of  literary  culture  and  forensic 
skill.    It  is  as  natural  for  students  to  divide  into  groups 

84 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  85 

or  parties  as  for  men  in  every  other  relation  of  life.  It 
so  happened  that  for  some  time  most  of  the  students 
from  the  South  became  Whigs;  most  from  the  North, 
Cliosophians.  Once  the  two  Societies  were  firmly  estab- 
lished, they  were  recognized  by  the  college  authorities 
as  a  serviceable  instrumentality  for  supplementing  the 
work  of  the  classroom.  Every  member  of  the  Fac- 
ulty became  identified  with  one  or  the  other,  and  was 
ready  on  every  occasion  to  play  the  part  of  "guide, 
philosopher,  and  friend." 

The  Societies  have  always  acted  together  in  further- 
ance or  defense  of  their  common  interests.  But  as 
between  themselves  they  have  maintained  an  attitude  of 
rivalry  or  hostility — for  the  most  part  of  an  amiable 
or  benevolent  quality.  In  their  direct  dealings  with 
each  other  by  means  of  correspondence  or  through  com- 
mittees, they  have  usually  manifested  the  lofty  bearing 
and  formality  of  "high  contracting  powers"  with  great 
issues  at  stake.  Each  has  been  quick,  on  occasion,  to 
take  offense  at  any  seeming  discourtesy  of  communica- 
tion or  demeanor  on  the  part  of  the  other  in  inter-hall 
negotiations  or  complaints.  And  official  letters  of  de- 
fense, disavowal,  or  apology  have  been  models  of  suave 
or  severe  diplomatic  expression. 

During  the  first  few  decades  of  the  existence  of  the  So- 
cieties, when  the  total  number  of  students  in  College  was 
small,  and  practically  every  student  was  in  one  Society 


86  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

or  the  other,  the  rivalry  between  them  was  most  intense. 
It  became  at  the  outset  so  open  and  obnoxious,  as  we 
have  seen,  as  to  lead  to  the  suppression  of  the  parent  so- 
cieties. And  in  the  next  few  years  "paper  wars"  of 
greater  or  less  acrimony  occurred  from  time  to  time, 
when  the  faults  or  foibles  of  each  Society  or  of  in- 
dividual members  were  set  forth  and  commented  on  by 
the  wits  or  satirists  of  the  other  in  wordy  diatribes 
or  doggerel  songs  (usually  anonymous)  which  were 
publicly  posted  or  circulated  from  hand  to  hand. 
In  verse-making  of  this  delectable  sort  the  Whigs 
seem  to  have  had  the  best  of  it.  Evidence  in 
support  of  this  inference,  as  well  as  proof  that 
a  very  vigorous  paper  war  was  waged  between  the  two 
Societies  soon  after  their  revival,  is  afforded  by  a 
manuscript  volume  discovered  among  the  papers  of 
William  Bradford  (Whig,  177S),  which  is  now  preserved 
in  the  library  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 
The  volume  is  entitled,  "Satires  against  the  Tories — 
Written  in  the  Last  War  between  the  Whigs  &  Clio- 
sophians  in  which  the  Former  Obtained  a  Compleat 
Victory."  It  is  made  up  of  squibs,  for  the  most  part  in 
rhyme,  from  the  pens  of  the  four  men  who  had  been  the 
leaders  in  forming  the  Whig  Society.  The  best  of  these 
wretched  performances  are  the  work  of  Philip  Freneau, 
now  remembered  as  the  poet  of  the  Revolution ;  the  most 
execrable,  that  of  James  Madison.    There  is  a  plentiful 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  87 

lack  of  real  wit  in  these  invectives,  but  an  abundance  of 
coarse  abuse  and  gross  characterization.  In  1775 
Freneau  published  a  satire,  entitled  "Mac  Swiggen,"  in 
which  he  embodied  many  of  the  verses  he  had  perpetrated 
in  this  paper  war — about  all  that  would  bear  the  light, 
as  Professor  Fred  Lewis  Pattee  says  in  the  introduction 
to  his  admirable  edition  of  Freneau's  poems.  Who  the 
Cliosophian  was  that  Freneau  was  attacking,  is  not 
known ;  nor,  of  course,  do  we  know  what  provocation  he 
had  given,  nor  What  was  the  nature  of  his  reply.  In- 
dubitably, he  did  his  best — or  worst — in  the  contest  of 
vituperation.  A  few  of  Freneau's  verses  will  suffice  to 
indicate  the  character  of  his  splenetic  effusion: 

"What   swarms    of   vermin    from   the    sultry    South 
Like    frogs    surround   thy   pestilential   mouth — 
Clad  in  the  garb  of  sacred  sanctity, 
What  madness  prompts  thee  to  invent  a  lie! 
Thou   base    defender   of    a   wretched    crew. 
Thy  tongue  let  loose  on  those  you  never  knew, 
The   human    spirit   with   the   brutal   join'd, 
The   imps    of   Orcus    in    thy   breast    combin'd. 
The    genius    barren,    and    the    wicked    heart. 
Prepared  to  take  each  trifling  scoundrel's  part, 
The  turned-up  nose,  the  monkey's   foolish   face, 
The    scorn    of    reason,    and    your    sire's    disgrace  — 
Assist  me,  Gods,  to  drive  this   dog  of  rhime 
Back   to   the  torments   of  his   native  clime. 

Come  on,  Mac  Swiggen,  come — your  muse  is  willing, 
Your  prose  is  merry,  but  your  verse  is  killing — 
Come  on,  attack  me  with  that  whining  prose,  » 

Your  beard  is  red,  and  swine  like  is  your  nose, 


88  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Like   burning  bush   your   bristly   head   of   hair, 
The  ugliest  image   of  a  Greenland  bear — 
Come  on,  attack  me  with  your  choicest  rhimes, 
Sound  void  of  sense  betrays  the  unmeaning  chimes, 
Come,  league  your  forces;  all  your  wit  combine. 
Your  wit  not  equal  to  the  bold  design — 
The  heaviest  arms  the  Muse  can  give  I  wield 
To   stretch   Mac  Swiggen  floundering  on  the  field, 
'Swiggen,  who,   aided  by   some   spurious   Muse, 
But   bellows    nonsense,   &   but   writes    abuse. 

Mac  Swiggen,  hear — Be  wise  in  time  to  come, 
A  dunce  by  nature,  bid  thy  Muse  be  dumb. 
Lest   you,   devoted   to   the   infernal   skies. 
Descend,  like  Lucifer^  no  more  to  rise!" 

Another  and  brighter  example  of  Freneau's  college 
poetizing  is  given  by  Professor  Giger  in  his  History  of 
Clio.  It  is  a  rhyming  skit  of  five  stanzas,  entitled  "The 
Distrest  Orator,"  provoked  by  a  Cliosophian,  Robert 
Archibald's  "memory  failing  him  in  the  midst  of  a  public 
discourse  he  had  got  by  rote."  In  this  poor  Archibald 
(1772)  is  made  to  declare: 

"My  words  were  few,  I  must  confess. 
And  very  silly  my  address, — 

A  melancholy  tale! 
In  short  I  knew  not  what  to  say, 
I  squinted  this  and  the  other  way. 

Like  Lucifer." 

"What  could  be  done?    I  gaped  once  more. 
And  set  the  audience  in  a  roar; 

They  laughed  me  out  of  face. 
I  turned  my  eyes  from  north  to  south, 
I  clapped  my  fingers  in  my  mouth — 

And  down  I  came!" 


William  Paterson,  Class  of  1763 


[From   the    portrait   bequeathed    to    Princeton    University    by    his   grandson, 
William   Paterson,   Class   of    1835] 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  89 

And  ten  years  later  Ashbel  Green,  who  was  to  become 
President  of  the  College  in  1812,  lampooned  a  Clio- 
sophian  in  verses  which  he  says  he  "afterwards  had 
great  cause  to  regret;  for  a  copy  had  been  preserved 
among  the  students,  and  when  the  subject  of  ridicule 
(Gilbert  T.  Snowden)  became  a  tutor,  he  was  annoyed 
by  hearing  this  song  sung  by  the  rogues  of  the  Col- 
lege, whom  he  had  offended.  I  was  at  the  time  a 
professor  in  the  institution." 

We  have  entertaining  testimony  of  another  paper 
war  a  few  years  later  in  a  most  interesting  "Journal  at 
Nassau  Hall,"  now  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  a  photo- 
graphic copy  of  which  is  possessed  by  the  University 
Library.  It  is  a  diary  kept  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year  1786  by  a  Clio  member  of  the  class  of  1787, 
whose  name  is  nowhere  given.  From  internal  evidence, 
however,  one  may  guess  with  reasonable  confidence  that 
the  diarist  was  George  Crow,  of  Delaware.  Whoever 
he  was,  he  writes : 

March  12  [1786]  Sunday. — After  prayers  [Ed- 
ward] Johnston  [1786,  Clio]  comes  into  our  room,  hav- 
ing found,  he  says,  a  paper  of  characteristicks  in  the 
window.     Our  fire  not  unraked*  having  gotten  up  too 

*  This  is  not  a  double  negative,  as  it  appears.  "Unraked"  is 
the  past  participle  of  the  verb  "unrake"  which  like  uncover,  undo, 
and  untie,  is  used  in  a  positive  sense.  The  fire  in  the  fireplace  was 
covered  or  raked  over  at  night,  and  was  unraked  in  the  morning. 
January  7,  the  diarist  writes:  "Don't  wake  till  2d  bell  done; 
get  up  in  a  great  hurry;  go  into  Hall  unbuttoned;  not  time  to 


90  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

late  this  morning  to  do  it — ^but  soon  do  it  &  light  a 
candle  [Prayers  were  early  in  those  days !]  and  find 
them  to  be  against  the  Whigs  of  the  Senior  class  &  a 
very  dirty  piece.  Snatch  them  from  Johnston,  intend- 
ing to  bum  them  to  keep  them  from  going  any  further, 
but  Firman  [probably  William  Gordon  Forman,  1786, 
Whig],  coming  into  the  Room  with  Johnston,  goes  out 
and  spreads  them  about.  Do  not  give  them  to  Johnston 
but  keep  them  to  bum  as  being  highly  injurious  to  our 
Society  to  appear  being  so  low  &  dirty.  [Henry  Em- 
bree]  Coleman  [1786,  Whig]  came  in  shortly,  but  we 
tell  him  they  are  burnt.  T[homas]  Grant  [1786,  Clio] 
&  Jn.  Read  [John  Reed,  1787,  Clio]  in  Room.  Hunt 
[there  were  two  Hunts,  Ralph  and  William  Pitt,  in  the 
class  of  1786,  both  Whigs]  &  Stevens  [probably  a  Whig 
who  did  not  graduate]  also  come  and  want  to  see  them 
very  much;  also  M[aturin]  Livingston  [1786]  [Daniel] 
Thew  [1787],  [John  N.]  Abiel  [Abeel,  1787]  [all 
Whigs],  &c.,  &c.,  all  having  heard  of  them.  Begin  to 
suspect — little  that  it  was  a  manuvre  of  theirs  &  express 
the  greatest  contempt  for  it  &  its  author  as  scandilous 
&  scurrilous  &c.  .  .  .  After  Recit'n  [in  Religion]  walk 
upon  the  Campus  with  J.  Read.  [Edward]  Graham 
[1786,  Whig],  &  [Abimael  Youngs]  NicoU  [1786, 
Whig]  meet  us.  Graham  starts  the  Character's.  I 
justify  myself  as  ignorant  of  the  author  &c.,  &  express 
my  contempt  of  them.  He  enquires  his  Character.  I 
give  some  of  the  words,  but  tell  [him]  I  did  not  attend 
them.  .  .  .  After  Supper  [Richard  Hugg]  King  [1786, 
Whig]  attacks  me  about  them,  but  intimates  his  appro- 
bation of  my  burning  them,  which  Coleman  says  he  dis- 
believes ;  but  I  pay  no  attention  to  him. 

light  a  candle,  nor  unrake  fire;  near  being  tardy."  Lexicographers 
appear  not  to  have  noted  this  usage. 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  91 

[March]  13,  Monday.  .  .  .  G.  Woodruff  [Clio 
graduate  of  1784]  &  [William  Maxwell]  Brown  [1786, 
Clio]  come,  Woodruff  for  the  first  time;  whom  I  was 
very  glad  to  see.  We  chat  very  agreeably  for  a  long 
time — Societies,  &c.,  particularly  of  the  letter  this 
evening  sent  to  the  Whigs,  how  it  will  surprise  and  vex 
them,  &c. ;  of  the  Characteristicks — late  and  former 
ones,  several  of  which  he  mentions,  &c. 

[March]  14,  Tuesday.  Attention  of  the  members 
of  our  Society  altogether  taken  up  with  the  last  letter 
to  the  Whigs ;  think  we  can  discover  from  their  coun- 
tenances that  they  are  mortified.  Walk  over  to  I.  Clark- 
son  [no  record]  to  speak  of  Lexiphanes  &  talk  of  the 
affair.  He  is  for  letting  it  drop  as  soon  as  possible  & 
having  nothing  more  to   do  with  them. 

A  day  or  two  after  this  the  Clios  "found  a  Whig's 
address — a  Moderator's,  on  entering  the  chair."  It 
was  "laughable  indeed — spelt  shockingly  &  poorly 
written."  It  gave  the  Clios  vast  amusement  and  was 
made  the  basis  by  them  for  endless  gibing  of  the  Whigs. 
So,  for  some  time  there  was  a  merry  war  of  words  when- 
ever Whig  and  Clio  came  together. 

The  members  of  each  Society  kept  much  to  themselves 
in  all  their  activities  and  associations,  and  intimate 
friendships  were  long  of  rare  occurrence  between  indi- 
vidual Whigs  and  Clios.  For  many  years^  they  even  sat 
on  opposites  sides  of  the  gallery  in  the  church  at  the 
Sunday  services.  And  yet  they  could  not,  of  course, 
help  being  thrown  much  together.  The  writer  of  the 
"Journal  at  Nassau  Hall"  frequently  mentions  visits 


92  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

from  Whigs  at  his  room  and  speaks  of  calling  himself 
on  Whigs  and  taking  long  walks  with  them.  March 
18,  1786,  he  writes:  "Go  to  Brown's  Room  and  hear 
Bob  Hughes  [1787]  play  his  violin,  the  Room  full  as 
usual — ^Whigs  and  Clios  promiscuously."  And  this  at 
the  very  time  when  the  Societies  were  officially  writing 
each  other  stinging  letters. 

Still,  the  general  attitude  of  aloofness  persisted,  and 
well  past  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  This  is  made 
certain  by  an  interesting  manuscript  volume  in  the 
University  Library,  entitled  "College  as  it  is,"  written 
by  Christian  Henry  Scharff  and  James  Buchanan 
Henry,  both  of  the  class  of  1853,  and  both  members  of 
the  Cliosophic  Society.  The  volume  describes  with 
intimate  detail  and  circumstance  every  phase  of  student 
life  at  the  period  of  its  authorship.     It  declares : 

"The  two  Societies  exert  much  influence  upon  the 
daily  intercourse  of  the  students.  A  marked  boundary 
line  has  been  drawn,  as  it  were,  between  Whigs  and 
Clios  which,  with  a  few  changes,  perhaps,  will  continue 
to  exist  forever.  When  the  students  used  to  board  at 
the  College  refectory,  the  members  of  each  Society  oc- 
cupied tables  by  themselves,  which  were  called  Whig 
and  Clio  tables.  In  town  the  same  thing  takes  place 
still;  Whigs  board  at  one  place  and  Clios  at  another. 
Members  of  different  Societies  never  room  together,  and 
there  are  even  two  entries  in  the  College  buildings,  which 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  93 

are  occupied  solely  by  members  of  one  Society.  Since 
many  years  the  Clios  have  had  possession  of  the  rooms 
of  the  second  entry  of  North,  while  the  Whigs  have 
reigned  supreme  in  the  rooms  of  the  second  entry  of 
East.  At  one  time,  to  be  sure,  a  Whig  attempted  to 
hold  property  in  the  Clio  domains,  but  in  a  short  time 
his  room  was  made  too  hot  for  him,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  seek  refuge  in  a  speedy  flight. 

"In  appointing  committees,  care  is  had  to  appoint 
if  possible,  an  equal  number  of  members  from  each  So- 
ciety, and  in  the  formation  of  whist  parties  Whigs  club 
with  Whigs  and  Clios  with  Clios.  In  ordinary  circum- 
stances this  distinction  between  the  two  Societies  does 
not  extend  farther.  Whigs  and  Clios  visit  each  other  in 
their  rooms,  walk  together,  and  sit  next  to  each  other  in 
class.  It  even  happens  not  unfrequently  that  intimate 
friends  belong  to  different  Halls." 

During  the  early  period  of  the  Societies'  experience 
the  liveliest  competition  for  new  members  obtained,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  a  young  man  that  for  any 
reason  had  severed  his  connection  with  one  Society  from 
joining  the  other.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  some 
names  during  this  epoch  appear  in  the  general  cata- 
logues of  both  Societies.  In  March,  1798,  eight  or  ten 
former  Whigs  were  taken  into  Clio  at  the  same  time. 
Why  they  had  left  Whig  Hall  is  not  told  us,  but  the  in- 
subordinate conduct  of  some  of  them  soon  in  Clio  justi- 


94  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY     . 

fies  the  surmise  that  their  leaving  may  not  have  been 
altogether  voluntary.  Indeed,  it  presently  became 
necessary,  for  the  sake  of  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the 
Society,  to  "separate"  several  of  these  young  gentlemen 
from  membership.  A  letter  from  the  Hall  to  the  Hon. 
Jonathan  Dayton,  who  had  interceded  in  behalf  of  the 
readmission  of  these  young  men,  throws  vivid  light  on 
the  situation.  These  men,  it  says,  "accustomed  to  live 
under  different  laws  from  ours  were  discontented,  and 
wished  and  exerted  themselves  to  introduce  the  most 
pernicious  innovations,  and  even  to  subvert  the  consti- 
tution held  sacred  through  the  successive  changes  of 
membership  since  the  first  institution  of  the  Cliosophic 
Society.  Thus  was  that  harmony  and  good  fellowship 
which  had  happily  existed  since  the  eldest  of  us  had  the 
honour  to  be  members  unfortunately  dissolved,  and  thus 
were  the  pacific  and  worthy  Cliosophians  exposed  to  the 
repeated  insults  and  malignant  attacks  of  those  per- 
sons." Moreover,  their  "conduct  has  been  such  since 
they  left  our  Society,  that  it  would  render  their  read- 
mission  highly  improper  and  dishonourable.  ...  In 
short  their  conduct  has  been  such  that  they  will  never 
be  received  even  by  the  American  Whig  Society." 

It  was  not  long  after  this  episode  when  both  Halls 
became  convinced  that  the  easy  transfer  of  allegiance 
from  one  Hall  to  the  other  was  not  to  the  advantage  of 
either.      This   conviction   found  expression   in    Clio   on 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  95 

February  6,  1799,  when  it  was  "resolved  that  it  be  the 
opinion  of  the  Society  that  it  would  be  beneficial  to 
enter  into  an  agreement  with  the  American  Whig  So- 
ciety to  prohibit  the  unlimited  emigration  of  members 
from  one  Society  to  the  other."  Whereupon  a  com- 
mittee of  three  was  appointed  to  invite  a  conference  with 
a  similar  committee  from  Whig  Hall;  and  a  few  days 
later  it  was  empowered  "to  enter  into  solemn  agreement 
with  the  Whigs  entirely  to  prohibit  emigration  from  one 
Society  to  the  other."  That  the  Hall  was  by  no  means 
unanimous  in  granting  this  authority,  however,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  vote  on  the  question  was  13  to  11. 
As  a  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  two  committees 
plenipotentiary,  the  following  treaty  was  adopted : 

The  American  Whig  and  Cliosophic  Societies  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  having  taken  into  consideration 
their  mutual  relations,  have  appointed  Thomas  Miller, 
John  Forsyth,  and  Henry  Wisner  on  the  part  of  one, 
and  Isaac  Meason,  Frederic  Nash,  and  John  vanDyke 
on  the  part  of  the  other,  to  enter  into  an  agreement  on 
the  subject  of  the  following  articles,  viz.: 

Article  1st.  The  American  Whig  and  Cliosophic  So- 
cieties do  pledge  themselves  to  each  other  not  to  admit 
any  person  dismissed  from,  or  who  shall  have  been  con- 
nected with,  the  one  into  the  other,  after  the  present 
time. 

Article  2nd.  The  above-mentioned  Societies,  wishing 
to  prevent  discontent  among  their  respective  members, 
and  deeming  it  necessary  thereto  that  every  person  be- 
fore he  enters  either  Institution,  should  be  acquainted 
with  the  character  and  members   of  both,  do  farther 


96  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

agree  that  no  student  shall  be  proposed  to  either  body, 
within  less  than  four  weeks  after  he  has  become  a  reg- 
ular member  of  College. 

Article  3d.  As  the  articles  above  are  wholly  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  the  contracting  parties  also  agree 
that  the  violation  of  one  of  them  by  either  Society  shall 
not  in  any  degree  impair  the  obligation  to  observe  the 
other. 

Thomas  Millee  Isaac  Meason 

John  Forsyth  Frederic  Nash 

Henry  G.  Wisner  John  vanDyke 

Committee    on    the  Committee    on    the 

part  of  the  Ameri-  part    of    the    Clio- 

can  Whig  Society,  sophic  Society. 

Done  this  seventh  day  gj^^j  ^y  order  Geo. 
of  March,  seventeen  hun-  Conner,  Clerk  of  the  A. 
dred  and  ninety-nine.  Whi^  Society. 

Signed  by  order  Benj.  M. 
Palmer,  Clerk  of  the  Clio- 
sophic  Society. 

Already,  some  months  before  the  adoption  of  the 
treaty,  the  Societies  had  acted  together  in  presenting 
a  memorial  to  the  Faculty,  pointing  out  "the  impro- 
priety of  permitting  a  present  set  of  neuters  in  College 
to  appear  in  public  with  badges  of  distinction."  Here 
was  evidently  the  beginning  of  an  effort  to  establish  a 
third  society.  There  had  been  a  similar  effort  in  1786, 
according  to  the  "Journal  at  Nassau  Hall."  But  Dr. 
Smith,  at  that  time  Vice-President  of  the  College,  had 
advised  the  young  men  active  in  it  to  seek  admission  into 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  97 

one  or  the  other  of  the  established  societies.  In  the 
next  few  years  more  than  one  attempt  in  this  direction 
was  made.  Thus,  in  1805  we  hear  of  the  Adelphic,  and  in- 
1807  of  the  Enterpian  Society.  The  two  Halls  actively 
opposed  every  movement  of  this  kind,  forbidding  their 
members  to  join  the  new  societies  or  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  them,  and  refusing  to  admit  to  their  own 
membership  any  student  that  had  been  connected  there- 
with. These  determinations  were  embodied  in  a  further 
treaty  between  the  Halls,  which  also  provided  that  its 
terms  "should  be  made  to  extend  to  every  Society  which 
may  have  been,  is,  or  may  be  contemplated  or  established 
in  the  College  of  New  Jersey."  The  immediate  eifect  of 
this  action  was  that  many  men  withdrew  from  the  Halls, 
and  joined  the  new  societies,  and  for  a  time  the  Halls 
suffered  in  membership  and  prestige.  But  this  did  not 
last  long.  In  the  autumn  of  1807  the  Halls  united  in 
rescinding  their  agreement  not  to  admit  to  membership 
men  that  had  belonged  to  the  new  societies;  and  these 
latter  soon  collapsed.  However,  Clio  immediately  de- 
clared its  position  by  requiring  all  its  members  to  make 
a  solemn  pledge  "never  to  become  members  of  another 
institution  which  may  be  opposed  to  the  interests  of  the 
Cliosophic  Society."  This  pledge  remained  a  standing 
requirement  of  the  Society,  being  only  modified  or  more 
exactly  defined  by  changing  the  last  part  to  read  "any 
institution  connected  with  the  College  which  the  Clio- 


98  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

sophic  Society  may  deem  opposed  to  its  interests."  The 
result  has  been  that  every  effort  to  establish  a  real  com- 
petitor of  the  two  ancient  Societies  has  come  to  naught. 
There  was  even  some  question  for  a  time  with  loyal  Clio- 
sophians  whether  in  view  of  their  pledge  it  was  proper 
for  them  to  become  members  of  the  Philadelphian 
Society. 

Meanwhile,  the  treaty  of  March  7,  1799,  continued 
in  full  force  and  vigor.  There  has  never  been,  so  far 
as  the  writer  can  learn,  any  violation  of  the  principle 
embodied  in  the  first  article  of  the  treaty.  Once  a 
Whig,  never  a  Clio ;  once  a  Clio,  never  a  Whig,  has  been 
the  unvarying  rule.  This  has  extended  also  to  honor- 
ary members.  In  case  a  man  was  elected  to  honorary 
membership  by  both  Societies  it  was  expected  that  he 
should  accept  the  election  of  which  he  first  received 
notification.  In  some  instances  there  has  been  a  keen 
race  between  letters  or  telegrams  of  notification.  But  it 
was  agreed  between  the  Halls  that  "priority  of  election 
should  not  be  considered  as  giving  either  Society  a 
superior  claim  upon  the  individual  elected  but  priority 
of  acceptance  should." 

There  was  a  lively  and  prolonged  controversy  between 
the  Halls  over  Dr.  McCosh,  and  each  Hall  was  able 
to  present  a  plausible  case  for  its  "superior  claim"  to 
his  allegiance.  The  dispute  was  finally  referred  to  an 
arbitrator  who  decided  in  favor  of  Whig — much  to  the 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  99 

vexation  of  Clio.  At  the  banquet  in  connection  with  the 
celebration  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  Whig  Hall, 
June  29,  1869,  Dr.  McCosh,  in  responding  to  the  toast, 
"Alma  Mater,"  referred  to  the  controversy  in  the  fol- 
lowing happy  strain :  "There  has  been  much  said  today 
about  the  benefits  of  knowledge;  and  I  have  certainly, 
in  my  own  experience,  found  the  disadvantage  of  igno- 
rance. I  really  did  not  know,  what  I  ought  to  have 
known,  that  there  might  be  any  inconsistency  in  joining 
myself  to  both  of  the  two  Societies,  the  Whig  and  the 
Clio,  and  with  the  tantalizing  view  of  each  that  was 
placed  before  me,  I  desired  to  become  a  member  of 
both ;  and  I  was  therefore  greatly  mortified  when  I  found 
that  I  was  to  make  my  choice  between  them.  ...  I 
felt  very  badly  because  I  could  not  join  both  Socie- 
ties. ...  It  was  decided  at  last  that  I  should  become 
a  Whig  .  .  .  and  I  am  ready  to  do  everything  I  can  for 
it  [Whig  Hall]  except  one.  ...  I  have  such  a  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  the  many  kindnesses  shown  me  by 
the  members  of  the  Clio  Society,  that  if  ever  you  fight  the 
Clios  you  must  not  expect  me  to  help  you." 

It  is  evident  in  the  midcentury,  at  times,  that  the 
intense  political  feeling  of  the  day  penetrated  the  Hall 
and  had  its  influence  in  the  election  of  new  members,  for 
April  25,  1856,  it  was  voted  that  objections  based  on 
politics  or  sectional  feeling  to  candidates  for  admission 
as  honorary  or  active  members  should  not  be  allowed 
unless  sustained  by  a  two-thirds  vote. 


100  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

But  almost  from  the  start  there  were  complaints  of 
the  violation  of  the  second  article  of  the  treaty.  The 
first  complaint  was  made  by  Clio  in  December,  1799. 
Its  basis  was  more  technical  than  real.  The  Whig  ac- 
knowledgment recites:  ''Whereas  Messrs.  Gambol  and 
Watkins  have  been  proposed  to  our  Society  about  twelve 
hours  sooner  than  the  time  specified  by  the  second  article 
of  the  late  treaty,  we  promptly  acknowledge  our  infrac- 
tion of  the  said  article,  and  are  determined  to  adhere 
strictly  to  its  performance  in  future."  Think  of  the 
enormity  of  those  twelve  hours !  Clio,  we  are  glad 
to  say,  rose  to  the  occasion  and  very  handsomely, 
though  with  exceeding  brevity,  responded:  "Your 
prompt  acknowledgment  of  the  infraction  of  the  treaty 
we  accept."  And  so  self-respect  was  preserved,  and  the 
treaty  was  saved. 

But  the  excessive  zeal  of  eager  campaigners  for  new 
members  was  hard  to  curb,  and  in  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed there  passed  from  one  Hall  to  the  other  innu- 
merable accusations  of  more  or  less  serious  infractions 
of  this  second  article  of  the  treaty.  These  accusations 
led  to  much  correspondence,  through  which  the  dignity 
of  the  Societies  was  vindicated  and  the  validity  of  the 
mutual  compact  was  asserted  and  maintained.  This 
went  on  until  the  autumn  of  1824,  when  for  a  time  amica- 
ble relations  between  the  Halls  were  suspended.  The 
annual  report  of  1825  describes  the  incident  in  language 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  101 

which  the  writer  would  not  venture  to  paraphrase: 
"Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  last  winter  ses- 
sion, a  member  of  college,  previous  to  his  admission  into 
our  Society,  entered — inadvertently,  as  he  declared, — 
into  the  Hall  of  our  rival  Society,  which  together  with 
his  initiation  into  our  Hall,  severed  every  bond  of  union 
heretofore  existing  between  the  two  Societies  and  threat- 
ened the  peace  of  the  institution  with  which  these  So- 
cieties stand  connected.  A  few  weeks  after  the 
initiation  of  this  person,  the  Society  was  called  upon  to 
perform  the  painful  duty  of  suspending  him  from  their 
Hall  for  ungentlemanly  conduct.  The  committee  re- 
joice that  they  are  enabled  to  state  that  the  Societies 
are  now  on  usual  terms  of  intimacy  and  feeling.  That 
dark  and  lowering  cloud  which  threatened  to  disgorge  its 
contents  upon  our  devoted  heads  has  passed  by  and  been 
followed  by  a  peaceful  calm."  Ah,  the  young  men  of 
that  day  knew  how  to  express  themselves ! 

But  the  "peaceful  calm"  was  not  of  long  duration. 
In  the  next  two  or  three  years  there  were  repeated 
charges  that  the  treaty  was  being  violated,  and  finally 
in  midwinter  of  1828-29  the  treaty  was  denounced  and 
annulled.  The  annual  report  of  1829  tells  the  story  of 
this  episode  in  prolix  but  interesting  detail.  After  ex- 
patiating on  the  importance  of  the  second  article  of  the 
treaty  and  the  necessity  of  absolute  adherence  to  its 
precise  terms,  the  report  continues: 


102  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

"Now,  we  are  bound  in  justice  to  our  Society  and  in 
the  spirit  of  strict  impartiality  to  state  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  opposite  Society  have  not  regarded  this 
article  with  the  veneration  it  deserves.  .  .  .  Notwith- 
standing the  necessity  of  preserving  strictly  inviolate 
so  important  an  article  of  the  treaty,  they,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  last  winter's  session,  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  above  mentioned  article,  admitted  into  their  So- 
ciety a  student  who  had  been  a  member  of  College  only 
three  weeks.  This  act  was  the  more  flagrant  and  the 
more  unjustifiable  as  it  was  committed  openly  and  with 
deliberate  premeditation.  So  much  so  that  they  even 
avowed  previously  to  our  members  their  intention  of 
so  doing;  and  moreover  privately  enquired  as  to  the 
degree  of  criminality  we  should  attach  to  the  commission 
of  it.  The  gentleman  referred  to  was  nevertheless  ad- 
mitted, and  the  only  course  left  us  was  to  remonstrate  as 
usual  and  request  an  explanation;  which  we  did  in  a 
firm  yet  respectful  manner  through  a  committee  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose.  So  far  was  this,  however, 
from  obtaining  the  necessary  apology,  that  in  order  to 
avoid  making  any  concessions,  they  took  this  opportu- 
nity to  cavil  and  object  to  our  letter  as  though  it  was 
not  sufficiently  humble  to  attract  their  notice.  It  was 
accordingly  enclosed  and  returned  to  us,  stating  simply 
that  they  did  not  consider  themselves  bound  to  reply  to 
such  a  communication. 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  108 

^'The  Cliosophic  Society  then  directed  their  com- 
mittee to  inform  the  American  Whig  Society  that  in 
consequence  of  the  violation  of  the  second  article  of  the 
treaty  and  their  refusal  to  make  any  apology  or  ex- 
planation of  the  same,  the  Cliosophic  Society  could  no 
longer  acknowledge  any  obligation  to  regard  the  article 
thus  violated,  and  that  it  was  thenceforth  null  and 
void.  We  then  received  a  letter  from  them,  written 
in  no  very  conciliatory  tone,  wishing  to  be  informed  of 
Hhe  train  of  reasoning  by  which  we  arrived  at  so  logical 
a  conclusion,' — viz.  our  right  to  annul  the  article  they 
had  so  openly  violated  and  for  which  they  would  make 
no  reparation, — and  ending  with  a  threat  that  if  we 
did  annul  that  article  they  would  no  longer  be  bound 
by  any  of  the  treaty,  and  that  thenceforth  they  would 
act  as  though  no  treaty  existed.  We  of  course  proceeded 
with  regard  to  this  article  as  we  had  informed  them  and 
afterwards  admitted  our  members  accordingly.  They 
then  determined  to  act  under  no  restraint  so  far  as  re- 
garded the  compact,  which  they  were  sacredly  pledged  to 
observe,  and  while  our  Society  was  in  session  at  one  of 
its  regular  meetings,  rushed  up  into  the  Hall  in  the  most 
disorderly  and  tumultuous  manner  and  after  much  con- 
fusion and  disturbance  retired  as  they  came.  [The  two 
Halls,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  occupied  at  that  time 
adjoining  rooms  on  the  top  floor  of  what  is  now  Stanhope 
Hall.     The  meetings  were  on  diff^i^e^i^  ev^^ings,  and  an 


104  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

article  of  the  inter-hall  treaty  forbade  the  members  of 
one  Society  to  enter  their  Hall  when  the  other  Society 
was  in  session.] 

"In  reply  to  their  last  letter  our  committee  by  direc- 
tion of  Society  referred  them  to  our  last  communication 
for  the  reason  of  our  conduct  and  also  informed  them 
that  hereafter  no  communication  from  the  American 
Whig  Society  which  did  not  propose  a  suitable  repara- 
tion for  the  recent  violation  of  the  treaty  would  receive 
any  notice  from  the  Cliosophic  Society.  In  conformity 
with  the  rest  of  their  conduct  this  letter  was  found  the 
next  morning  nailed  to  one  of  the  doors  of  the  college 
building. 

"Thus  ended  all  communication  between  the  two ;  and 
as  the  American  Whig  Society  had  rejected  the  treaty, 
we  shortly  after  annulled  it  by  the  unanimous  consent 
of  ours.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  general  statement 
where  the  aggression  commenced  and  how  it  was  con- 
tinued. The  members  of  the  Cliosophic  Society  have 
throughout  acted  with  calmness  and  deliberation,  nor 
was  any  step  taken  by  the  Society  till  its  consequences 
were  duly  weighed  and  its  propriety  fully  established. 
The  advice  and  opinions  of  our  graduate  members  had 
their  weight  in  all  these  proceedings,  and  when  they 
could  be  obtained  were  gladly  received." 

Any  one  with  the  slighest  apprehension  of  the 
undergraduate  temper  can  ^-ppreciate  the  tremendous 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  105 

seriousness  of  the  situation.  So,  it  was  a  very  pretty 
quarrel  as  it  stood,  and  for  a  time  there  was  much 
bitterness  of  spirit  and  many  an  act  of  mutual  annoy- 
ance. Wiser  counsels  soon  prevailed,  however,  and 
though  for  many  years  there  was  no  revival  of  the  treaty, 
ill  will  gave  way  to  better  feelings,  and  the  two  So- 
cieties conducted  themselves  with  a  reasonable  regard 
for  each  other's  rights  and  susceptibilities.  The  annual 
report  of  1880,  speaking  of  the  rupture  of  relations, 
declares :  "Not  the  least  inconvenience  on  our  part  has 
been  experienced.  Unclogged  by  articles  of  agreement, 
which  the  principles  of  honor  here  inculcated  taught  us 
to  observe  and  which  our  rival  without  cause  trampled 
under  foot,  our  course  has  been  steered  independently 
of  any  communication  with  them." 

Meanwhile,  with  no  restriction  on  the  times  and  sea- 
sons for  receiving  new  members  existing,  there  was  con- 
stantly increasing  vigor  and  variety  in  the  methods 
employed  by  both  Societies  to  win  adherents.  Com- 
mittees were  appointed  to  lay  siege  to  the  new  students 
as  soon  as  they  appeared  on  the  campus ;  and  these  were 
courted  and  feted  and  had  life  made  a  pleasant  burden 
to  them  until  they  were  pledged  to  one  Hall  or  the  other. 
But  once  in  the  Hall  of  their  choice  they  became  aware 
that  "those  civilities  and  attentions,"  as  the  annual 
report  of  1831  regretfully  puts  it,  "arose  from  other 
motives  than  genuine  politeness,  esteem,  or  friendship." 


106  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

They  learned  that,  after  all,  they  were  only  freshmen, 
and  that  there  were  sophomores  who  had  ideas  and  de- 
signs for  their  discipline  and  improvement  which  delayed 
application  had  only  made  more  definite  and  more 
searching. 

This  condition  of  unregulated  competition  endured  for 
nearly  fifteen  years — with  less  friction  and  animosity 
between  the  Halls,  however,  than  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. Then,  in  1844,  a  new  treaty  was  adopted,  much 
the  same  as  the  old,  only  that  the  time  of  residence  in 
College  before  which  a  student  could  be  admitted  to  mem- 
bership was  made  two  weeks  instead  of  four.  Hardly  a 
year  and  a  half  passed  before  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
treaty  by  Whig  Hall  occurred,  and  again  relations  were 
severed  and  unrestricted  rivalry  was  resumed. 

The  apologetic  account  of  this  episode  given  by 
Professor  Cameron  (who  was  a  student  at  the  time),  in 
his  "History  of  the  American  Whig  Society,"  is  worth 
quoting:  "Through  inadvertence  the  Whigs  initiated 
two  members  before  they  had  been  connected  with  the 
College  two  weeks,  as  was  required  by  the  treaty.  The 
Clios  declared  the  treaty  null  and  void,  and  would  not 
receive  our  explanation.  The  return  of  a  letter,  in  what 
was  considered  an  improper  manner,  in  the  course  of  an 
excited  correspondence,  induced  the  Whigs  to  post  the 
Clios  upon  the  walls  of  the  College.  The  paper  was  re- 
moved by  the  authorities  of  the  College,  and  the  Clios 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  107 

ceased  to  have  any  social  relations  with  the  Whigs.  The 
dearest  friends  were  separated,  and  I  have  never  wit- 
nessed so  much  excitement  or  such  a  display  of 
bitter  feeling  since  I  have  been  connected  with  the  insti- 
tution. Daily  meetings  were  held  by  the  Societies,  at 
which  members  of  the  Faculty  and  old  graduates  were 
present  attempting  to  restore  kindly  feelings.  The 
storm  fortunately  passed  without  any  personal  out- 
breaks ;  but  the  only  solution  of  the  difficulty  consisted  in 
the  mutual  withdrawal  of  the  correspondence  and  the 
abolition  of  the  treaty.  It  was  not  until  the  commence- 
ment of  my  class  in  1847  that  a  general  reconciliation 
occurred  and  harmony  was  restored." 

In  "College  as  it  is,"  from  which  quotation  has  al- 
ready been  made,  we  have  a  vivid  description  of  the 
assiduities  of  the  two  Halls  at  the  beginning  of  the 
college  year  during  this  period  to  obtain  new  recruits. 
Somewhat  condensed  this  reads: 

"The  reception  with  which  a  newy  meets  here  at 
Princeton  differs  widely  from  that  which  he  experiences 
at  some  of  the  European  colleges.  There  the  first  two 
weeks  of  his  collegiate  life  are  always  insupportable.  At 
Princeton,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  treated  politely  by  all ; 
every  one  seems  happy  to  make  his  acquaintance,  and  in 
a  few  hours  after  his  arrival  at  College,  he  feels  as  if 
he  were  among  old  friends.  The  freshman  cannot 
escape  torment  altogether;  the  time  of  his  suffering  is 


108  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

only  put  off.  There  are  two  Societies  at  Princeton,  the 
American  Whig  and  the  Cliosophic.  All  their  proceed- 
ings are  covered  with  an  impenetrable  veil  of  secrecy. 
As  they  are  rivals  each  one  endeavors  to  secure  a  supe- 
riority in  the  number  of  members.  Hence  it  is  that 
every  one  is  kind  to  the  newy,  visits  him  in  his  room, 
treats  him  to  creams,  and  thus  tries  to  get  him  to  join 
that  Society  to  which  he  himself  belongs.  Some  of  the 
senior  members  of  each  Society  are  always  on  the  alert 
to  treat  any  freshman  who  comes  within  their  reach, 
and  if  this  individual  is  cute  enough  to  leave  them  in 
doubt  for  some  time  as  to  which  of  the  Halls  he  in- 
tends to  enter,  he  can  have  a  very  fine  time.  The  sight 
of  one  member  of  each  Society  ^hoaxing'  a  freshman 
for  their  respective  Halls,  reminds  one  of  the  scenes 
between    steamboat    runners   of   opposition   boats. 

"In  the  conversations  between  members  of  the  Halls 
and  newies,  much  is  said  about  a  certain  goat  which  is 
kept  by  each  Society  for  the  sole  purpose  of  letting  the 
newies  ride  in  triumph  through  the  Halls.  Who  knows 
but  what  these  goats  may  be  descendants  from  that 
celebrated  individual  into  which  Mnemosyne,  the  mother 
of  the  muses,  was  transformed  in  ancient  times  by 
Jupiter,  the  great  father  and  king  of  the  gods.  Every 
one  sets  forth  his  own  goat  as  a  strong  and  gentle  crea- 
ture who  will  carry  a  newy  through  all  the  mysteries  of 
the  Hall  with  the  greatest  ease.     The  goat  of  the  rival 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  109 

Society  butts  the  freshman  and  when  mounted  gallops 
away  in  furious  manner,  leaving  the  rider  at  his  destina- 
tion more  dead  than  alive.  The  freshman  therefore  as- 
sures himself  first  of  all  which  of  the  two  animals  is  in 
fact  the  most  gentle.  On  the  second  Friday  night  after 
the  commencement  of  the  session  you  may  see  a  number 
of  young  men  walking  arm  in  arm  to  each  of  the  two 
Halls.  These  are  the  newies  accompanied  by  their  guides. 
They  arrive  at  the  door;  the  freshmen  prepare  them- 
selves for  the  ride  and  well  they  may  do  so,  for  as  the 
door  opens  you  may  see  part  of  the  form  of  a  white 
goat.  Look  how  the  newies  tremble;  they  are  now 
going  to — ^but  the  door  closes  and  the  outsiders  are  thus 
left  in  perfect  ignorance  as  to  the  particulars  of  the 
ride." 

In  the  years  that  followed,  at  various  times,  other 
treaties  regulating  campaigning,  etc.,  to  much  the  same 
effect  as  the  early  compacts,  were  entered  into  between 
the  Halls.  These  were  enforced  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods  and  then  through  infractions  went  the  way  of 
their  predecessors.  Finally,  in  May  1891,  an  elaborate 
treaty,  defining  in  detail  the  limits  and  methods  of  cam- 
paigning and  providing  severe  penalties  for  violation  of 
its  restrictions,  was  negotiated  and  ratified  by  the  two 
Halls.  This  was  somewhat  revised  and  amplified  ten 
years  later,  when,  in  addition  to  the  signatures  of  the 
committees  of  the  two  Halls,  it  was  attested  on  behalf 


110  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

of  the  graduate  members  by  Professor  Woodrow  Wilson 
for  the  Whigs  and  by  Professor  Theodore  W.  Hunt  for 
the  Clios. 

The  Halls  agreed  to  refrain  from  all  campaigning 
except  such  as  the  treaty  provided  for.  This  excluded 
^'the  deliberate  attempt  upon  the  part  of  any  member  at 
any  time  whatsoever  to  influence  directly  or  indirectly 
any  student  or  prospective  student  in  the  choice  of 
Society."  It  provided  for  the  appointment  by  each 
Hall  every  year  of  a  committee  of  ten  to  present  to 
new  students  ''the  claims  of  hall  membership"  and  to 
urge  its  advisability,  but  the  two  committees  were  to  act 
in  harmony,  and  no  member  of  either  was  to  urge  a 
student  to  enter  Hall  except  in  the  presence  of  a  member 
of  the  committee  of  the  other  Hall.  It  provided  further 
for  the  annual  publication,  at  the  joint  expense  of  the 
Halls,  of  a  small  pamphlet  concisely  stating  the  aims 
of  the  Societies,  explaining  the  method  of  applying  for 
membership,  and  giving  a  brief  summary  of  the  history 
of  each  Hall.    The  pamphlet  would  say : 

"Identification  with  one  Hall  or  the  other  is  advised 
by  the  Faculty,  who  are  themselves  members.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  Societies  is  the  promotion  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture by  literary  exercise.  One  obtains  in  them  a  train- 
ing not  found  in  the  curriculum.  .  .  .  Therefore,  apart 
from  personal  prejudice  toward  institutions  to  which 
we  belong,  we  earnestly  advise  all  new  students  seeking 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  111 

for  intellectual  culture  and  improvement  to  join  one  or 
other  of  the  Societies  for  the  training  afforded,  for  the 
library  and  reading  room  advantages,  and  for  the  friend- 
ship and  hospitality  found  within  their  walls." 

This  system  continued  in  force,  giving  reasonable 
satisfaction,  until  a  few  years  ago  when  the  publication 
of  the  pamphlet  was  abandoned  and  the  present  method 
of  presenting  the  claims  of  the  Halls  to  the  entering 
class  came  into  use.  Individual  solicitation  remains 
under  ban.  Campaign  committees  are  still  appointed 
which  act  in  harmony,  and  shortly  before  the  October 
initiation  a  meeting  of  the  freshman  class  is  held  at 
which  the  virtues  and  advantages  of  the  two  Halls  are  set 
forth  by  two  members  of  the  Faculty,  one  a  Whig  and 
the  other  a  Clio. 

The  competitive  spirit  between  the  Halls  has  not  en- 
tirely disappeared,  but  little  is  left  of  the  ancient  inten- 
sity of  friction  and  rivalry.  Perhaps  a  little  more  of 
the  old  eagerness  of  emulation  would  be  beneficial  to 
both  Halls.  The  late  James  W.  Alexander  ('60),  in 
his  interesting  "Princeton  Old  and  New,"  published  in 
1898,  while  admitting  that  the  practice  of  "hoaxing" 
"may  have  been  carried  to  an  extreme,  for  the  com- 
mittees [in  the  times  when  no  treaty  existed]  had  the 
habit  of  approaching  students  before  they  came  to  Prince- 
ton, waylaying  them  at  the  station  and  pursuing  them 
with  every  sort  of  suasion  short  of  physical  force,"  still 


112  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

is  of  opinion  that  "the  competition  had  its  meritorious 
side."  For,  he  contends,  "it  left  no  indifferent  men  in 
College."  He  declares  further:  "It  cannot  be  said, 
without  qualification,  that  the  effect  [of  the  present 
system]  is  good.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
these  venerable  institutions  there  exists  a  considerable 
body  of  students  who  belong  to  neither  Society,  and 
there  are  many  who  would  hail  enthusiastically  the  abro- 
gation of  the  treaty,  and  a  return  to  the  traditional 
habit,  which  would  doubtless  be  favorably  toned  by  the 
experiences  of  recent  years." 

The  first  Greek  letter  fraternity  to  appear  at  Prince- 
ton was  Beta  Theta  Pi  which  was  established  in  184S, 
nearly  twenty  years  after  the  Greeks  had  begun  their 
conquest  of  other  colleges.  It  endured  only  three  years. 
Delta  Kappa  Episilon  came  in  1845.  In  the  early  fifties 
seven  other  fraternities  found  footing.  Even  their  meet- 
ing places  were  kept  secret,  declares  "College  as  it  is," 
but  acting  together  they  were  able,  according  to  the 
same  authority,  to  control  class  elections.  The  college 
authorities  were  hostile  to  them  from  the  start.  Senti- 
ment in  Clio  was  for  a  time  divided.  This  is  made  mani- 
fest by  the  fact  that  June  22,  1854,  the  Society  adopted 
the  following  minute  for  presentation  to  the  Trustees : 

Whereas  we  have  been  informed  by  the  President  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey  that  it  is  a  matter  of  general 
belief  that  secret  associations  have  been  and  are  inju- 
rious to  the  interests  of  the  Cliosophic  Society,  we  the 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  113 

members  of  the  Cliosophic  Society  do  in  general  assem- 
bly submit  the  following  resolutions  to  the  Trustees  of 
the  College,  requesting  that  they  will  give  them  a  candid 
and  careful  consideration: 

Be  it  resolved  (1)  that  the  secret  associations  estab- 
lished in  College  have  not  tended  to  wean  the  members 
from  the  interests  of  the  Cliosophic  Society;  but  such 
members  have  performed  with  zeal  and  alacrity  the 
various  duties  devolving  upon  them  and  have  striven 
hand  and  heart  with  all  others  to  promote  the  prosper- 
ity and  guard  the  best  interests  of  the  Society. 

(2)  That  the  friendly  intercourse  now  existing  be- 
tween the  two  literary  Societies  is  in  a  great  measure 
dependent  upon  the  establishment  of  secret  associations 
in  College ;  that  it  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  prior  to  such 
associations  a  feeling  of  animosity  existed  between  the 
two  Halls  most  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  College 
and  detrimental  to  the  happiness  of  the  student ;  that  the 
cessation  of  such  hostility  is  due  to  the  secret  associa- 
tions which  while  they  excite  a  generous  rivalry  between 
the  two  literary  Societies  bind  the  members  of  either  in 
firmest  bonds  of  amity  and  produce  a  feeling  of  good-will 
that  goes  far  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  College. 

(3)  That  the  existence  of  secret  associations  is  not 
necessarily  productive  of  cliques  in  .the  Cliosophic  So- 
ciety, and  even  were  such  cliques  to  be  formed  that  they 
oppose  the  formation  of  cliques  far  more  bitter  in  their 
nature  and  more  dangerous  in  their  effects.  That  the 
secret  associations  binding  by  the  closest  ties  of  friend- 
ship unite  North  and  South,  East  and  West,  in  firmest 
bonds  of  union ;  that  they  thus  destroy  those  state  and 
sectional  [prejudices]  which  would  embitter  the  course 
of  the  student  and  impede  the  progress  of  the  Hall. 
That  the  secret  associations  thus  enable  the  stranger 
to  meet  with  a  hearty  welcome  and  to  make  firm  friends 


114  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  his  own  State  or  section. 
That  they  thus  guard  against  that  bitter  sectional 
feeling  which  has  crept  into  some  of  the  institutions  of 
our  country,  enabling  the  student  to  regard  this  literary 
Society  and  thus  promote  his  happiness  and  the  welfare 
of  the  Hall  and  the  College. 

(4)  That  those  members  of  the  Cliosophic  Society 
who  are  deserving  of  her  highest  honors  have  not  found 
secret  associations  detrimental  to  their  interests. 

The  Trustees,  we  may  well  believe,  were  not  greatly 
impressed  with  the  resolutions,  for  their  opposition  did 
not  relax.  And  even  if  "the  existence  of  secret  associa- 
tions was  not  necessarily  productive  of  cliques"  in  the 
Hall,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  Greeks  did  com- 
bine to  control  hall  politics  and  so  became  a  subtle 
disturbing  element.  Elections  under  their  influence 
were  fiercely  contested,  "becoming,"  as  a  contemporary 
report  declares,  "to  many  of  as  much  importance  as  any 
Presidential  election  is  to  office-seeking  politicians." 
Evil  conditions  finally  reached  a  climax  in  scenes  of  wild 
disorder  at  the  election  of  Junior  Orators  in  March 
1857.  The  annual  report  for  that  year  tells  the  story : 
"The  unauthorized  secret  societies,  after  intense  exer- 
tion and  polling  their  full  vote,  were  unable  to  carry 
the  election  of  one  of  their  candidates.  The  defeated 
party  (for  parties  we  must  acknowledge  were  formed) 
was  greatly  disappointed  in  the  result  of  the  election,  so 
that  many  of  its  members  without  the  least  compunc- 
tion of  conscience  wilfully  made  known  to  members  of  the 


RELATIONS  AND  RIVALRIES  115 

American  Whig  Society  many,  yea,  nearly  all  the  inter- 
nal arrangements  of  the  Hall.  They  revealed  the  names 
of  our  officers  and  candidates  for  Junior  Orator,  with 
the  number  of  votes  which  each  received,  and  even  the 
fictitious  names  of  every  active  member  of  Society. 
Not  contented  with  this,  they  drew  up  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions which  they  read  at  a  called  meeting  of  Society 
pledging  themselves  never  to  enter  the  Hall  again,  and 
desiring  that  they  might  no  longer  be  considered  mem- 
bers of  Society.  Having  read  the  resolutions,  they  gave 
three  cheers,  stamped  loudly,  and  in  a  body  [twenty- 
nine  of  them]  left  the  Hall." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  college  authorities  which, 
"knowing  the  importance  and  advantages  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whig  and  Cliosophic  Societies  and  observing  the 
workings  of  the  secret  cliques,  had  already  adopted  reso- 
lutions requiring  each  student  to  pledge  himself  not  to 
join  any  other  secret  society  while  a  member  of  Col- 
lege," now  adopted  more  stringent  measures  to  suppress 
the  Greeks.  As  a  result  most  of  the  fraternities  were 
disbanded  in  1857  or  soon  after.  Two,  however,  per- 
sisted, in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  dislodge  them,  and  in 
defiance  of  the  pledge  given  by  the  students  at  matricu- 
lation, for  twenty  years  longer;  and  in  the  sixties  two 
others  were  established  and  maintained  a  precarious 
existence  for  a  few  years.  All  these  were  under  ban  and 
their  members   had  to  be  most   careful  to  hide  their 


116  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

membership  and  to  keep  their  surreptitious  meeting 
places  secret.  The  two  Halls  were  as  hostile  to  them 
as  were  the  authorities.  In  1872  they  made  a  treaty 
agreeing  mutually  to  exact  a  most  solemn  pledge  of 
members  not  to  join  any  other  secret  society  in  College 
and  promising  to  assist  each  other  in  detecting  and 
punishing  any  man  that  violated  his  pledge.  Delta  Phi 
held  out  longest  of  all,  but  finally  gave  up  the  ghost  in 
1877,  and  the  long  contest  was  ended.  At  least,  that  is 
the  official  record.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
chapter  kept  up  a  sort  of  shadowy  post  mortem  exist- 
ence for  fifteen  years  or  so  longer.  A  Clio  who  grad- 
uated in  the  early  nineties  recalls  that  he  was  surprised 
and  indignant  at  being  invited  to  become  a  member. 

First  and  last,  from  1843  to  1877,  ten  different 
Greek  letter  fraternities  had  chapters  at  Princeton — 
eight  of  them  in  the  fifties.  All  told,  if  we  may  rely 
on  the  figures  given  by  William  Raimond  Baird  in  his 
"Manual  of  American  College  Fraternities,"  they  en- 
rolled a  total  of  only  four  hundred  and  fourteen  mem- 
bers. But  some  three-fourths  of  the  membership  be- 
longed to  the  critical  years  of  the  fifties ;  and,  as 
was  said  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  there  is 
no  reasonable  doubt,  if  the  fraternities  had  been  allowed 
to  flourish  at  Princeton  as  they  did  at  the  other  colleges 
of  the  country,  that  Whig  and  Clio  would  long  ago 
have  become  a  memory. 


CHAPTER  V 

Public    Competitions   and   Honors 

The  history  of  one  Hall  is  in  many  respects  the  his- 
tory of  both  Halls.  It  is,  indeed,  difficult  to  think  of  one 
without  the  other.  Whatever  change  or  improvement 
one  made  was  pretty  sure  very  soon  to  be  adopted  by 
the  other,  if  not  in  precise  form  at  least  in  substance. 
In  their  dealings  with  the  college  authorities  they  acted 
in  unison,  making  known  their  wishes  or  presenting  their 
protests  through  joint  committees ;  for  whatever  affected 
the  welfare  or  prospects  of  one  Hall  was  felt  to  be  of 
equal  consequence  to  the  other.  So,  for  much  more  than 
a  century  all  extra-curriculum  activities  of  the  student 
body  were  related  more  or  less  closely  to  the  Halls. 
Officers  and  committees  of  the  various  classes  were  com- 
posed as  nearly  as  possible  of  equal  numbers  of  Whigs 
and  Clios;  so,  too,  committees  representing  the  general 
student  body,  boards  of  editors  of  college  publications, 
and  the  like. 

In  later  years,  with  the  large  increase  of  so  great  a 

variety  of  extra-curriculum  activities,  the  Halls  have 

lost  their  dominating  position  and  influence.     They  still 

enlist  the  active  support  of  a  larger  proportion  of  the 

117 


118  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

students  than  any  other  single  interest;  but  they  no 
longer  control  college  life  and  college  politics  as  they 
used  to  do,  and  their  activities  no  longer  excite  the 
rivalry  and  the  acclaim  that  they  used  to  command. 
Old  graduates  who  remember  how  great  a  part  the 
Halls  played  in  their  student  days  may  lament  their 
decline,  if  not  in  real  influence  on  those  that  make  use  of 
the  opportunities  and  privileges  they  offer,  at  least  in 
their  relative  importance;  but  such  lamentation  is  vain. 
"Other  times,  other  customs"  holds  true  in  the  student 
world  as  elsewhere,  and  institutions  and  exercises  that 
admirably  serve  the  needs  of  one  generation  may  make 
slight  appeal  to  the  generations  that  follow.  If  the 
Halls  are  to  survive  and  to  continue  to  be  a  strong  and 
vital  influence  in  university  life, — and  after  their  long 
and  splendid  history  of  usefulness  it  will  be  deplorable 
if  they  do  not, — they  must  not  cling  too  insistently  to 
traditional  methods,  but  must  constantly  adapt  their 
activities   to   modern   student   requirements. 

The  first  appearance  in  public  of  representatives  of 
the  two  Halls,  as  such,  was  on  July  4,  1783.  Announce- 
ment of  this  was  made  by  an  advertisement  in  the  New 
Jersey  Gazette,  which  read: 

Princeton,  June  20,  1783. 

The    anniversary    of    the    independence    of   America 

[thus    early   was    America    used    as    synonymous    with 

United  States']  will  be  celebrated  in  the  College  by  two 

orations  delivered  by  young  gentlemen  appointed  for 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  119 

that  purpose  by  the  two  Literary  Societies  established 
in  the  Institution,  in  which  they  propose  not  only  to 
pay  the  tribute  that  is  due  to  their  country  from  youth 
engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  science,  but  to  emulate  each 
other  in  the  opinion  of  a  polite  assembly  for  the  honour 
of  their  respective  Societies. 

One  may  feel  pretty  confident  that  this  dignified  and 
carefully  phrased  sentence  did  not  emanate  "from  youth 
engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  science."  It  must  have  been 
framed  by  some  member  of  the  Faculty;  not  unlikely 
by  Professor  (afterward  President)  Samuel  S.  Smith, 
who  a  few  days  later  wrote  a  letter  to  the  President 
of  Congress,  Dr.  Elias  Boudinot  (a  trustee  of  the  Col- 
lege), offering  Congress  the  use  of  the  Prayer  Hall  and 
the  Library  "as  places  in  which  to  hold  their  sessions 
or  for  any  other  purpose,"  in  which  he  had  this  sono- 
rous period :  "And  if,  in  the  common  shock  of  our  coun- 
try this  institution  hath  suffered  more  than  other  places, 
both  by  friends  &  foes ;  from  its  readiness  to  assist  the 
one,  while  the  public  was  yet  poor  &  unprovided  with 
conveniences  for  its  troops ;  &  from  the  peculiar  & 
marked  resentment  of  the  other,  as  supposing  it  to  be 
a  nursery  of  rebellion,  we  doubt  not  but  the  candour  of 
that  most  honourable  body  will  readily  excuse  the  marks 
of  military  fury  which  it  still  retains." 

Dr.  Ashbel  Green  in  his  autobiography  gives  us  the 
following  account  of  the  celebration:  "Not  long  after 
their  meeting  [that  of  Congress]  at  Princeton,  the  na- 


IW  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

tional  Jubilee,  the  Fourth  of  July,  was  to  be  celebrated ; 
and  then  occurred  the  first  instance  of  the  Whig  and 
Cliosophic  Societies  appointing  each  an  orator,  to  rep- 
resent them  as  speaker  before  a  public  audience.  I  had 
the  honour  to  be  the  Whig  representative,  and  my  Clio- 
sophic competitor  was  a  classmate,  by  the  name  of  Gil- 
bert T.  Snowden  [the  man  whom  he  had  lampooned]. 
It  was  considered  as  a  point  of  some  importance  which 
orator  should  speak  first.  This  was  decided  by  lot  and 
the  lot  was  in  my  favour.  The  subject  of  my  oration 
was  'The  superiority  of  a  republican  government  over 
any  other  form.'  Congress  made  a  part  of  our  au- 
dience, and  the  orators  of  the  day  were  invited  by  the 
President  of  Congress  to  dine  with  him  and  his  other 
invited  guests  at  his  quarters,  which  were  with  his  sister, 
then  a  widow,  at  her  seat  at  Morven."  (Ah,  how  many 
a  famous  company  Morven  has  entertained !  Long  may 
it  still  abide,  "a  haunt  of  ancient  peace" !) 

There  remains  no  record  of  the  theme  discussed  by 
young  Snowden,  who  later  was  a  tutor  in  the  College 
and  then  entered  the  ministry.  But  it  was  no  doubt 
of  an  equally  patriotic  character.  Apparently,  from  this 
year  on,  the  Fourth  of  July  was  regularly  commemorated 
in  similar  fashion  by  the  two  Halls.  The  "Journal  at 
Nassau  Hall,"  from  which  quotation  was  made  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  gives  us  entertaining  particulars  of 
the  celebration  in  1786.     June  29,  the  diarist  writes: 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  1^1 

"Both  Societies  held  occasional  meetings  today,  when, 
in  consequence  of  Dr.  Smith's  direction,  three  persons 
were  appointed  from  each  Society  to  speak  on  the  fourth 
of  July  after  the  principal  orations  were  deliv'd.  Per- 
sons from  ours  (Cliosophic),  Messrs.  James  [Hender- 
son] Imlay  [1786],  Jacob  Camp  [doubtless  of  the  class 
of  1787;  he  did  not  graduate],  and  Geo.  Clarkson 
[1788]  ;  from  the  Whig  Soc'y,  Messrs.  Mat[urin] 
Livingston  [1786],  Horace  Stockton  [Lucius  Horatio 
Stockton,  1787],  &  Henry  Dees  [the  name  appears  fre- 
quently in  the  "Journal,"  sometimes  spelled  "Deas" ;  he 
was  doubtless  of  1788,  in  which  class  there  was  also  a 
David  Deas]." 

Then,  July  4,  he  tells  the  story  of  the  day:  "How 
are  the  mighty  fallen ! — This  day  for  3  or  4  years  past 
had  been  celebrated  with  the  greatest  elegance  &  festiv- 
ity. Literary  as  well  as  many  other  entertainments ;  the 
day  entirely  devoted  to  relaxation  &  pleasure;  Profes- 
sors, tutors.  Students  partaking  in  common  of  a  most 
elegant  dinner  previously  provided.  But  this  year 
the  latter  part  of  the  celebration  was  knocked  in  the 
head,  the  Faculty  having  determined  it  high  treason  for 
any  student  to  breakfast,  dine,  or  sup  out  of  the  Stew- 
ard's Hall,  who  was  anyhow  within  reach  of  it.  This, 
by  the  by,  the  Steward  would  willingly  have  dispensed 
with.  For  it  is  very  currently  reported  &  as  generally 
believed  that  his  feelings  were  much  hurt,  his  conscience 


122  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

much  strained,  and  his  purse  much  impaired  by  the 
punch,  ham,  &  green  peas  which  (mirabile  dictu)  were 
had  on  this  mem'ble  day.  The  orations  deliv'd  in  the 
morn'g  by  S[amuel  Finley]  Snowden  [1786,  Clio — ^he 
had  been  chosen  by  the  Society  as  its  orator  on  March 
29]  &  Ed'd  Graham  [1786,  Whig]  were  very  well 
spoken  &  in  all  other  respects  well  conducted;  a  good 
audience,  polite  &  attentive ;  the  speakers  complimented 
by  Dr.  Smith.  In  the  afternoon,  partake  with  3  or  4 
students  of  a  nicely  elegant  repast — fruit,  preserves, 
punch.  At  5  o^clock,  6  other  orations  were  deliv'd  by 
students — 3  from  each  Society  &  concluded  with  two 
very  humorous  ones  (Blunt  &  Anderson)  [Possibly 
Blunt  was  William  Blount,  of  North  Carolina,  who  was 
admitted  to  Clio  in  1785,  but  did  not  graduate.  An- 
derson was  doubtless  William  A.  Anderson  (1789, 
Whig).  Here  was  very  likely  the  beginning  of  the  hu- 
morous speech  in  Princeton  on  patriotic  occasions,  still 
kept  up  on  Washington's  Birthday.]  which  terminated 
the  Literary  exercises  of  the  day.  The  day  was  ushered 
out  by  the  discharge  of  13  rounds  from  a  cannon  in  the 
campus  [the  historic  cannon?]  which  seemed  to  defuse 
more  gen'l  satisfaction  than  had  been  felt  before." 

The  number  of  orators  for  the  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
bration varied  in  the  early  period,  but  finally  it  was 
settled  that  each  Hall  should  regularly  appoint  four 
speakers,  and,  some  years  later,  alternately  a  Reader  of 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  123 

the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  speaking  took 
place  "in  town,"  but  just  where  we  are  not  informed. 
Probably  it  was  in  the  open  air  when  the  weather  was 
propitious ;  and  people  from  the  village  and  the  vicinage 
joined  with  the  students  in  the  celebration.  This  patri- 
otic practice  came  to  an  end  in  1839.  The  orators  were 
selected  as  usual  in  1840.  It  was  Clio's  turn  to  name  the 
Reader,  and  thence  the  trouble  rose.  The  annual  report 
of  1840  tells  the  story : 

"Although  our  Society  has  been  characterized  by  such 
a  great  degree  of  harmony  and  peace  within,  yet  a 
threatening  storm  gathered  without.  The  long  and  un- 
interrupted peace,  which  previously  existed  between  the 
two  rival  Societies  was  violently  ruptured  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  session.  .  .  .  Last  session  one  of  our 
members  obtained  through  another  a  leaf  from  the  min- 
utes of  the  Whig  Society  [it  had  blown  out  accidentally 
from  Whig  Hall  and  been  picked  up  by  a  Clio],  contain- 
ing the  names  and  duties  of  the  officers  not  only,  but  the 
whole  internal  government  of  the  Hall.  In  justice 
to  our  fellow  member  we  state  that  his  first  intention  was 
to  suppress  this  document  [which,  of  course,  he  should 
have  done  or  have  returned  it  to  Whig  Hall],  but  on 
account  of  the  solicitations  of  several  friends  he  con- 
sented to  its  divulgement.  In  a  short  time  the  whole 
document  was  in  the  possession  of  all.  The  Whigs  natur- 
ally  became   very   much   exasperated,    and   the   whole 


IM  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

weight  of  their  resentment  fell  upon  our  unfortunate 
Brother. 

"The  Society  afterwards  thought  proper  to  elect  this 
gentleman  Reader  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
on  the  Fourth  of  July.  He  resigned  on  the  ground  that 
his  election  would  displease  the  Whigs;  but  as  the  So- 
ciety had  elected  him  on  account  of  his  qualifications  for 
that  office  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  insulting  our  rival, 
they  reelected  him  by  an  unanimous  vote.  As  soon  as  this 
became  known  to  the  Whig  Society,  they  sent  in  a  com- 
munication addressed  in  a  dictatorial  and  haughty 
manner,  declaring  that  unless  we  would  withdraw  the 
obnoxious  person  and  substitute  another  in  his  place, 
they  would  not  join  with  us  in  celebrating  the  day.  A 
reply  was  drawn  up  in  which  we  stated  that  it  was  not 
our  intention  to  insult  that  body  by  electing  the  gentle- 
man, and  being  conscious  of  this  we  could  not  retract. 
They  still  persisted  in  the  ground  which  they  had  taken, 
and  consequently  the  exercises  of  the  day  were  unper- 
formed by  either,  a  thing  which  never  occurred  before  in 
the  history  of  the  two  Societies. 

"Thus  the  contest  ended,  but  we  apprehend  its  re- 
newal when  the  time  comes  for  appointing  another 
Reader.  Each  Society  appoints  one  alternately  to  rep- 
resent their  body.  It  was  our  privilege  last  year,  and 
as  the  gentleman  appointed  by  us  was  not  recognized  and 
no  Declaration  was  read,  we  daim  the  right  of  electing 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  1^5 

the  next  one.  They  do  the  same.  Now,  to  which  So- 
ciety does  that  right  belong?" 

The  annual  report  of  the  next  year  continues  and 
completes  the  story: 

"The  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  by  the  So- 
cieties was  this  year  defeated  by  causes  arising  out  of 
the  difficulty  of  last  year.  The  last  person  who  per- 
formed as  Reader  was  chosen  by  the  American  Whig 
Society.  There  has  been  no  celebration  since  that  time 
and  of  course  according  to  rotation  it  was  our  privilege 
this  year  to  elect  a  Reader.  The  Whig  Society  also 
claimed  it;  but  surely,  consistently  and  honorably,  we 
could  not  allow  them  to  represent  us  twice  successively. 
It  would  have  been  at  variance  with  usage  and  with  the 
contract  to  which  both  Societies  have  subscribed.  Our 
cause  seemed  therefore  palpable;  there  was  no  room  for 
doubt,  no  chance  for  error ;  and  we  unanimously  deemed 
it  to  be  our  duty  to  have  our  stipulated  right  or  to 
secede — to  celebrate  with  the  Reader  of  our  choice  or 
not  to  celebrate  at  all. 

"We  well  know  that  it  is  policy  as  well  as  a  pleasure 
to  exercise  courtesy  toward  our  neighbor,  that  civility  in 
intercourse  is  manly  and  that  forbearance  is  virtuous; 
and  according  to  these  sentiments  as  far  as  practicable 
we  have  acted.  The  American  Whig  Society  first  took 
offense,  and  we  told  them  none  was  intended;  and  yet 
making  their  own  prejudiced  opinions  the  arbiter  in  a 


126  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

matter  which  concerned  us  both,  they  would  deprive  us 
of  a  right  as  evident  as  it  is  reasonable,  and  which  we 
conceived  the  most  refined  rules  of  etiquette  and  the  most 
Christian-like  charity  would  not  permit  us  to  yield. 

"It  is  highly  probable  ( even  should  there  be  no  altera- 
tions in  the  college  sessions)  that  the  Societies  will  never 
again  jointly  celebrate  the  birthday  of  our  country. 
And  though  we  regret  that  a  practice  begun  more  than 
half  a  century  ago  in  the  presence  of  our  American  Con- 
gress should  be  interrupted  by  a  trivial  circumstance, 
yet  we  believe  the  fault  is  not  of  our  begetting,  the 
blame  cannot  be  attached  to  us.'' 

Possibly,  the  quarrel  might  have  been  patched  up,  dis- 
tressing as  it  was,  in  time.  But  it  was  not  long  after  this 
(1844)  that  the  change  in  the  college  year  was  made 
which  brought  the  Commencement  in  June,  and  so  there 
was  no  longer  a  possibility  of  a  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion by  the  students.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the 
Whigs  had  rather  the  best  of  the  argument  in  the  con- 
troversy; that,  in  spite  of  Clio's  protestation  and  spe- 
cial pleading,  the  blame  for  the  breaking  up  of  the 
ancient  and  laudable  custom  was  rather  upon  her 
shoulders.  The  Whigs  had  good  cause  to  resent  the 
election  of  Crane — for  that  was  the  name  of  the 
"brother"  who  gave  publicity  to  the  flying  leaf  of  Whig 
secrets ;  and  Clio  had  better  have  accepted  Crane's  res- 
ignation and  elected  another  Reader.     And  the  follow- 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  127 

ing  year  it  had  done  better  not  to  have  insisted,  in  view 
of  its  obstinacy  of  the  year  before,  on  its  technical  right. 

The  Whig  resentment  toward  Crane  was  deep  and 
lasting.  Mr.  Alexander,  in  his  "Princeton  Old  and 
New,"  recounts:  "A  graduate  who  was  at  Princeton 
during  this  terrible  commotion  relates  that  ten  or  twelve 
years  after  leaving  College  he  j  oined  the  most  prominent 
social  club  in  New  York,  and  on  entering  the  reading- 
room  one  evening  whom  should  he  see  but  C —  himself, 
vho  had  become  a  physician  of  repute.  The  graduate 
— full  of  the  old  Princeton  feeling,  which  never  dies  in 
a  son  of  Nassau — was  so  shocked  that  it  was  as  much 
as  he  could  do  to  'hold  himself  down'  and  not  to  de- 
nounce C —  then  and  there  as  unfit  for  the  company 
of  gentlemen.  But  sober  second  thought  came  to  his 
rescue,  and  he  contented  himself  with  avoiding  his  fel- 
low clubman." 

After  the  abandonment  of  the  public  celebration, 
Clio  continued  its  own  particular  observance  of  the  na- 
tional holiday  as  long  as  the  4th  of  July  remained 
within  the  college  year ;  and  then,  when  the  change  in  the 
college  year  was  made,  the  patriotic  celebration  was 
transferred  to  Washington's  birthday.  This  praise- 
worthy practice  was  continued  for  many  years,  four  or- 
ators, sometimes  more,  being  chosen  to  commemorate  the 
character  and  achievements  of  the  Father  of  his  Coun- 
try, to  express  the  patriotic  sentiments  of  the  Society, 


128  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

and  to  discuss  any  timely  question  of  large  social  or 
political  interest.  What  eloquence,  what  rhetoric, 
what  wealth  of  suggestions  for  all  manner  of  reforms, 
won  applause  from  hands  and  voices,  now  long  silent, 
in  those  old  Hall  celebrations ! 

And  just  here  we  must  not  fail  to  recall  that  probably 
one  of  the  earliest  celebrations  of  Washington's  birth- 
day ever  held  was  conducted  by  the  Cliosophic  Society. 
This  was  in  1794  while  Washington  was  finishing  the 
first  year  of  his  second  term  as  President,  and  nearly 
six  years  before  his  death.  The  minutes  record:  "An 
oration  was  delivered  by  Bro.  Gama,  who  had  been 
previously  chosen  for  that  purpose,  to  the  great  satis- 
faction of  all  present."  "Bro.  Gama"  was  Henry 
Kollock  (1794),  afterwards  for  some  years  in  the 
Princeton  Faculty  and  widely  known  as  an  eloquent 
preacher. 

The  public  competition  between  the  Halls  of  longest 
duration  is  what  has  long  been  known  as  the  Junior 
Orator  Contest.  Just  when  this  was  instituted  the 
writer  has  been  unable  definitely  to  ascertain.  In  the 
Clio  minutes  of  February  27,  1874,  it  is  said,  on  what 
authority  does  not  appear,  to  have  been  begun  in  1783 ; 
but  this  is  probably  too  early  a  date.  There  is  record 
that  at  the  Commencement  of  1784  there  was  a  competi- 
tion in  oratory  between  the  two  Societies,  each  being 
represented  by  a  single  orator  chosen  from  the  senior 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  129 

class.  It  is  possible  that  the  idea  of  such  a  contest  as 
between  the  Halls  at  commencement  time  was  suggested 
by  the  success  of  the  Fourth  of  July  speaking.  Or  it 
may  simply  have  superseded,  by  a  sort  of  natural  evolu- 
tion, an  earlier  custom  which  had  been  instituted  by 
President  Witherspoon.  This  was  a  contest  in  oratory, 
open  to  all  undergraduates,  held  usually  on  the  day  pre- 
ceding the  annual  Commencement.  The  first  contest  of 
this  kind  was  held  in  1771,  and  then  regularly  for  sev- 
eral years. 

Whatever  its  origin,  the  inter-hall  contest  soon  be- 
came firmly  established  in  the  interest  and  esteem  of 
the  students ;  probably  before  1790.  Mr.  John  R.  Wil- 
liams, in  his  book,  "Academic  Honors  in  Princeton  Uni- 
versity", on  giving  the  names  of  the  competitors  from 
the  two  Societies  in  1805,  says,  to  be  sure :  "This  is  an 
early  and  isolated  instance  of  competition  between  the 
two  Societies  by  four  representatives  from  each,  on  the 
evening  preceding  commencement  day.  This  custom 
Vas  not  regularly  instituted  until  several  years  later, 
when  it  became  known  as  the  'Junior  Commencement,' 
the  Junior  orations  of  the  present  day."  But  this 
is  clearly  erroneous.  It  is  certain,  at  any  rate,  that 
there  was  speaking  "the  night  before  Commencement" 
in  1786.  There  are  numerous  references  to  preparations 
therefor  in  the  "Journal  at  Nassau  Hall."  Under 
date  of  August  16,  1786,  the  diarist  writes  of  a  dis- 


130  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

cussion  he  had  had  that  day  with  a  fellow  Clio  "of  the 
late  measures  of  the  Whigs  in  appointing  persons  to 
speak  the  night  before  Commencement."  It  appears, 
too,  that  the  diarist  himself  was  preparing  to  be  one 
of  the  speakers  on  that  occasion, — unfortunately,  the 
Journal  stops  abruptly  a  few  days  before  Commence- 
ment,— and  that  he  was  to  use  an  oration  written  for 
him  by  Samuel  Bayard  [Clio,  1784],  possibly  a  kins- 
man, as  he  speaks  in  one  place  of  a  visit  from  "Uncle 
Bayard."  On  receiving  the  oration,  "which  in  general 
pleased  me  very  much,"  he  had  carefully  transcribed  it 
and  submitted  it  to  Dr.  Smith,  by  whom  it  was  "pretty 
well  curtailed,  and  robbed,  I  thought,  of  some  of  its 
greatest  beauties." — ^The  cruel  doctor!  After  the 
speaking  that  night,  also,  the  diarist  and  a  fellow  class- 
mate and  Cliosophian,  Nathaniel  Higginson,  were  pre- 
paring to  surprise  the  audience  with  a  presentation  of 
the  dialogue  "Doctors  Neverout  and  Doughty."  The 
account  of  this  speaking  published  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Journal  (October  11,  1786,  fifteen  days  after  it  oc- 
curred!) says  twelve  young  men  took  part  and  it  names 
eleven.  It  does  not  mention  the  dialogue.  There  was 
"a  very  numerous  and  respectable  audience." 

Moreover,  the  Clio  minutes  from  1792  (the  earliest  we 
have)  regularly  report  each  year  the  election  of  orators 
for  the  evening  before  Commencement;  and  quite  as 
regularly   report   each  year   an   "occasional   meeting" 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  131 

held  a  few  nights  before  Commencement  for  the  purpose 
of  hearing  the  orations  that  were  to  be  spoken  in  the 
competition.  For  some  years,  however,  the  number  of 
orators  was  not  limited  to  four,  nor  was  the  choice 
confined  to  the  junior  class;  sophomores  being 
likewise  eligible.  In  1793  seven  orators  were  ap- 
pointed ;  but  there  were  no  commencement  exercises  that 
year  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  in  Phil- 
adelphia. In  1794  six  men  spoke,  all  juniors  except 
one.       Not  long  after  this  the  number  was  fixed  at  four. 

In  1808  the  Whigs  for  some  reason  refused  to  enter 
the  contest.  In  consequence  of  this,  a  few  days  before 
Commencement,  an  "occasional  meeting"  of  Clio  was 
called  and  four  additional  orators  were  chosen ;  so  that  all 
eight  speakers  "on  the  evening  before  Commencement" 
that  year  were  Clios.  Of  the  four  original  speakers, 
three  were  juniors  and  one  was  a  sophomore.  Of  the 
additional  four,  two  were  juniors,  and  two,  sophomores. 
In  1809  all  four  Clio  speakers  were  juniors ;  in  1810  two 
were  juniors  and  two  were  sophomores.  But  by  the 
next  year  the  contest  appears  to  have  become  an  ex- 
clusively junior  function,  for  the  minutes  of  September 
25, 1911,  report  for  that  evening  an  "occasional  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  Juniors"  who  were  to 
speak  the  evening  before  Commencement. 

For  a  hundred  years  or  more  no  distinction  that  stu- 
dent life  at  Princeton  offered  was  more  highly  regarded 


132  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

or  more  eagerly  sought  after  than  the  honor  of  being 
one  of  the  four  men  chosen  to  represent  one's  Hall  in 
this  annual  competition  in  oratory;  and  recognition  by 
the  auditors,  or  in  later  times  by  the  judges,  as  the  best 
orator  was  the  crowning  triumph  of  undergraduate 
ambition.  Until  recent  years  the  speaking  took  place 
the  evening  before  Commencement.  It  attracted  a 
crowded  assemblage.  Seats  were  in  such  demand  that 
strict  rules  for  their  distribution  had  to  be  enforced. 
For  many  decades  the  expenses  for  programs,  music, 
etc.,  were  borne  by  the  contestants.  Then  the  Halls 
assumed  them,  share  and  share  alike.  Through  a  long 
period,  the  speaking  was  regarded  as  an  exhibition  rather 
than  a  competition.  There  were  no  prizes  and  no  official 
declaration  was  made  of  the  relative  merits  of  the  ora- 
tors. Indeed,  in  1813  when  the  Faculty  proposed  to 
oifer  a  prize  for  the  best  speaker,  the  two  Halls  "Re- 
solved that  on  the  evening  preceding  Commencement, 
or  any  other  period  for  the  representation  of  each  So- 
ciety by  its  speakers,  no  person  or  persons  of  said 
representation  be  permitted  to  speak  as  competitors  for 
the  prize  instituted  by  the  Faculty,  leaving  them  how- 
ever at  full  liberty  to  do  it  at  any  other  time  they  may 
think  proper."  But  for  all  that  there  was  the  keenest 
rivalry  for  popular  acclaim.  The  speakers  wore  their 
hall  colors  and  the  Whigs  and  Clios  of  the  audience 
vied  with  each  other  in  the  loudness  and  prolongation 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  133 

of  the  applause  with  which  they  expressed  their  approval 
of  the  performances  of  their  respective  champions. 

The  orators  were  long  elected  in  each  Hall  by  a  vote 
of  the  members.  This  method  of  selection,  at  least  for 
many  years,  produced  satisfactory  results.  The  choice 
was  pretty  sure  to  fall  upon  the  men  that  were  generally 
recognized  by  the  body  of  members  as  the  ablest  speak- 
ers, for  each  Hall  wished  to  make  the  best  showing  possi- 
ble in  public.  But  as  the  number  of  students  increased 
and  aspirants  for  Junior  Orator  distinction  became 
numerous,  the  competition  for  election  grew  to  be  a 
spirited  contest.  "Slates"  were  made,  cliques  were 
formed,  and  electioneering  campaigns  were  conducted 
for  weeks  before  the  night  of  election,  absorbing  so  much 
time  and  attention  of  the  students  as  seriously  to  inter- 
fere with  their  college  work.  Even  sectional  prejudices 
were  at  times  invoked,  and  in  the  fifties  the  Greek  letter 
fraternities  would  combine  to  control  the  elections.  The 
election  itself  was  frequently  attended  with  wild  and 
tumultuous  disorder,  protracted  far  into  the  night,  and 
often  naturally  there  was  dissatisfaction,  charges  of  un- 
fairness, and  bitter  resentment  when  the  votes  were  can- 
vassed and  the  results  were  announced.  The  culmination 
of  turbulence  was  reached,  as  already  noted,  at  the  elec- 
tion in  March  1857,  when  twenty-nine  men  of  the 
defeated  faction  filed  a  fierce  protest  and  boisterously 
retired  from  the  Hall. 


134  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

The  college  authorities  could  not  fail  to  take  note  of 
these  evil  conditions,  and  they  determined  to  devise  some 
plan  for  correcting  them.  The  Halls  were  at  once  in 
arms  against  faculty  interference  with  what  they  held 
to  be  a  strictly  hall  matter — the  right  they  had  always 
exercised  of  selecting  their  orators  according  to  their 
own  rules,  uncontrolled  by  outside  authority.  They  ap- 
pointed committees  to  act  together  in  defense  of  their 
ancient  prerogative.  These  in  June  1858  presented  a 
remonstrance  to  the  college  authorities  against  their 
interference  in  the  matter.  The  annual  report  of  1858 
reveals  how  deep  the  feeling  was.  "The  Hall,"  it  says, 
"was  founded,  built,  paid  for,  and  supported  by  the 
students  of  Nassau  Hall,  and  by  those  who  graduated 
from  these  walls.  And  we  have  always  fancied,  at  least, 
that  we  were  a  free  and  independent  body,  separate  and 
distinct  from  the  College.  Let  this  be  as  it  may,  we 
now  claim  as  our  right  the  representation  of  our  Hall 
upon  the  college  stage  by  four  Junior  Orators.  .  .  . 
We  ask  you  to  raise  your  voices  in  our  behalf ;  in  behalf 
of  the  liberties  of  Clio  Hall.  We  believe  you  all  must 
feel  that  if  the  Trustees  carry  out  their  intentions  it  will 
prove  the  ruin  of  our  Society."  Thereupon  the  annual 
meeting  approved  of  the  remonstrance  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  present  its  resolution  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees.  Though  the  Trustees  were  as  deeply  im- 
pressed as  ever  with  the  seriousness  of  the  situation, 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  135 

yet,  in  view  of  the  hall  protests,  they  decided  to  post- 
pone action  for  the  present,  trusting  that  the  Societies 
themselves  would  "find  and  apply  some  appropriate 
remedy  to  the  admitted  evils"  of  the  existing  method  of 
electing  Junior  Orators. 

This  hope  of  the  Trustees  was  not  realized;  the  evils 
were  not  abated;  and  in  December  1859  the  Trustees 
"by  a  unanimous  vote  transferred  to  the  hands  of  the 
Faculty  the  uncontrolled  management  of  the  election 
of  Junior  Orators,"  as  President  Maclean  notified  a 
Clio  Hall  committee  early  in  1860.  Thereupon  indig- 
nant resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  Hall;  an  appeal 
was  addressed  to  the  Clio  members  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  the  Whigs  were  invited  to  cooperate 
with  the  Clios  in  action  for  the  common  defense  of  their 
rights.  While  hall  excitement  was  at  its  highest  the 
following  letter  was  received  from  President  Maclean, 
of  whose  loyalty  to  Clio  there  was  never  any  question: 

College  of  New  Jersey 

Princeton,  February  17, 1860. 
To  the  Cliosophic  Society: — 

Inquiry  having  been  made  of  me  by  one  of  your  mem- 
bers with  respect  to  the  action  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
College,  at  the  meeting  in  December  last,  in  reference 
to  the  selection  of  speakers  for  the  evening  before  Com- 
mencement, I  mentioned  to  him  for  your  information 
what  instructions  the  Trustees  had  given  to  the  Faculty. 

Upon  further  consideration  I  deem  it  respectful  to 
you  and  incumbent  upon  me  to  make  a  more  formal 
statement  to  you  of  the  matter.     Learning  with  deep 


136  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

regret  that  the  selection  of  speakers  continued  to  be 
accompanied  with  excitement,  disorder,  and  violation 
of  the  rules  of  the  College,  the  Trustees  deemed  it  their 
duty  to  withdraw  from  the  Societies  the  privilege  hith- 
erto allowed  them  of  selecting  the  speakers,  and  they 
therefore  instructed  the  Faculty  to  make  the  selection. 

Having  said  thus  much  in  regard  to  the  action  and 
feeling  of  the  Trustees,  I  can  not  close  this  communica- 
tion without  assuring  you  that  in  doing  what  they  did 
the  Trustees  were  not  regardless  of  your  views  and 
wishes  as  made  known  to  them  a  year  or  two  ago;  and 
that  if  they  could  have  devised  a  plan  by  which  the 
evils  they  sought  to  remedy  could  in  future  be  prevented 
without  so  radical  a  change  in  the  manner  of  selecting 
speakers,  they  would  have  adopted  it  in  preference  to 
the  one  they  did.  Their  only  object  was  to  remedy  the 
evils  referred  to  above.  While  they  must  maintain  that 
so  far  as  the  College,  its  instruction,  government,  and 
public  exercises  are  concerned,  the  decisions  of  the 
Trustees  are  by  the  charter  of  the  College  absolute  and 
final;  yet  I  am  confident  that  they  desire  to  exercise 
their  authority  in  a  manner  acceptable  to  all  concerned, 
and  to  grant  to  the  students  every  indulgence  in  their 
power.  What  plan  the  Faculty  will  ultimately  adopt 
to  carry  into  effect  the  order  of  the  Trustees,  I  am 
not  able  to  say;  but  I  can  with  confidence  say  that  in 
framing  a  plan  for  this  purpose  the  Faculty  will  be 
desirous  to  conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  Societies  so 
far  as  they  can  consistently  with  the  object  aimed  at 
by  the  Trustees. 

Let  me  suggest  that  no  hasty  action  be  taken  by  the 
Societies;  but  that  the  whole  subject  be  seriously  and 
calmly  pondered  for  some  time  at  least.  Nothing  can  be 
gained  by  action  at  the  present  time  which  will  not  as 
easily  be  gained  after  a  deliberate  examination  of  the 
subject  in  all  its  phases;  and  hasty  resolves  might  serve 
only  to  embarrass  the  question. 

Respectfully  and  affectionately, 

fToHN  Maclean. 


Luther  Martin,  Class  of  1766 


[From   the    plate   by    Edwin,    owned    by   the    Maryland    Historical    Society] 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  137 

Further  protests  on  the  part  of  the  Halls  were  seen  to 
be  unavailing.  Whereupon  a  joint  committee  of  the  two 
Halls  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Faculty,  and  it 
was  arranged  that  the  Halls  should  vote  as  heretofore 
by  secret  ballot  but  that  the  ballots  should  be  can- 
vassed by  a  committee  of  hall  members  of  the  Faculty. 
This  plan,  which  was  regarded  at  the  time  as  "a  settle- 
ment both  agreeable  to  the  Faculty  and  honorable  to 
our  Hall,"  did  not  do  away  with  the  electioneering  and 
the  factional  controversies  which  caused  the  greater 
part  of  the  evil.  It  only  abated  the  disorder  of  election 
night.  So,  in  1865,  it  gave  way  to  the  sensible  method 
which  has  ever  since  prevailed.  All  who  desire  to  be 
candidates  for  Junior  Orator  appointments  in  each 
Hall  engage  in  a  speaking  contest,  and  a  committee  of 
hall  members  of  the  Faculty  names  the  four  men  who 
are  adjudged  to  be  the  best  speakers. 

On  the  assumption  by  the  Faculty  of  complete  control 
of  the  method  of  selecting  the  orators,  the  Trustees 
authorized  the  Faculty  to  bestow  four  gold  medals  (or 
books  to  the  same  value)  on  the  four  orators  who  in  the 
public  contest  should  be  decided  by  the  judges  (one 
graduate  member  of  each  Hall  and  a  member  of  the 
Faculty)  to  be  the  best  orators.  These  prizes  were 
given  first  in  1865.  A  few  years  later,  by  the  will  of 
Henry  A.  Stinnecke  (Clio,  '61),  another  prize  was 
added.    This  was  named  in  honor  of  John  Maclean,  who 


138  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

had  recently  resigned  the  Presidency.  It  is  one  hundred 
dollars  and  is  given  to  the  man  who  pronounces  the  best 
oration,  regarded  from  the  standpoint  of  literary  and 
rhetorical  excellence.  This  prize  was  awarded  first  in 
1872.  For  two  or  three  years,  at  one  period,  when 
the  endowment  for  this  prize  failed  to  produce  revenue, 
the  Halls  each  contributed  fifty  dollars  so  that  there 
should  be  no  interruption  in  the  award  of  the  prize. 

In  the  fifty-one  years  that  the  faculty  prizes  have 
been  awarded  (1865-1915),  a  Clio  has  taken  , the  first 
prize  twenty-six  times;  the  second  prize  twenty-six 
times ;  the  third  prize  thirty-one  times ;  the  fourth  prize 
twenty-five  times.  In  the  forty-four  years  (1872-1915) 
that  the  Maclean  prize  has  been  awarded,  a  Clio  has  won 
it  twenty-four  times.  Thus,  of  the  two  hundred  and 
forty-eight  prizes  awarded  in  the  Junior  Orator  contest 
in  all  these  years,  Clios  have  received  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two. 

The  Junior  Orator  Contest  no  longer  commands  the 
interest  that  it  formerly  aroused.  Instead  of  being 
the  most  popular  and  brilliant  performance  of  com- 
mencement week,  it  receives  practically  no  attention. 
It  takes  place  now  on  Saturday  forenoon.  The  only 
auditors  are  the  judges  and  a  friend  or  two  of  each  of 
the  speakers.  In  place  of  the  thronged  assemblage  of 
other  days,  with  music  and  flowers  and  all  the  circum- 
stance of  an  envied  occasion,  the  young  orators  now 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  139 

must  face  the  disheartening  prospect  of  empty  benches, 
and  their  periods,  however  eloquent,  can  waken  no  re- 
sponse but  the  maddening  echo  of  their  own  voices.  It 
is  all  very  distressing  to  the  old  graduate  who  recalls  the 
glory  that  was  Whig  and  the  grandeur  that  was  Clio 
in  the  days  when  college  oratory  still  made  appeal  to  the 
taste  and  applause  of  "a  polite  assembly."  0  tempora, 
o  mores! 

Already  in  the  early  seventies  of  the  last  century  there 
was  a  growing  feeling  that  the  public  exhibitions  of 
collegians  were  for  the  most  part  too  unreal,  too  aca- 
demic, too  little  related  to  actual  life  and  thought.  It 
was  under  the  impulse  of  this  feeling  that  more  stress 
began  to  be  laid  in  various  universities  on  public  de- 
bating and  that  intercollegiate  competitive  debates  also 
were  established,  in  which  questions  of  contemporaneous 
interest  and  importance  were  discussed.  In  Princeton 
in  1876  the  Lynde  inter-hall  debate  was  established, 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Lynde  having  given  a  fund  to  provide 
three  prizes.  Three  men  are  chosen  from  the  senior  class 
in  each  Hall  in  much  the  same  manner  that  the  Junior 
Orators  are  selected,  and  the  three  prizes  are  awarded 
in  the  order  of  merit  to  the  three  successful  competitors 
in  a  debate  held  just  before  the  trials  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  intercollegiate  debaters.  In  the  forty  years, 
1876-1915,  a  Clio  has  taken  first  prize  twenty-two 
times ;  second  prize  twenty-two  times ;  third  prize  seven- 


140  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

teen  times.     Only  in  taking  third  prize  has  Whig  sur- 
passed Clia. 

In  July  1825  the  Whigs  submitted  a  proposition  to 
Clio,  suggesting  "the  expediency  of  abolishing  the  speak- 
ing on  the  evening  before  Commencement  [evidently 
from  this  mode  of  designation  the  speaking  was  not  yet 
known  as  the  "Junior  Orator  Contest"]  and  of  sub- 
stituting in  place  of  it  some  distinguished  graduate 
from  the  two  Societies  alternately,  who  will  deliver  an 
oration  before  the  two  Societies  assembled  in  the  church 
upon  that  occasion."  Committees  from  the  two  Halls 
weightily  discussed  this  proposition,  and  presently 
recommended  to  the  Halls : 

First:  That  it  be  [Lindley  Murray  might  find  it 
difficult  to  justify  that  "be"]  expedient,  and  that  it 
would  redound  to  the  credit  of  each  Society,  and  have 
a  beneficial  tendency  [Ah,  well,  he  is  a  hard-hearted 
purist  that  would  find  fault  with  undergraduate  expres- 
sion when  the  sense  of  it  is  reasonably  clear!]  on  the 
parent  Institution,  if  some  distinguished  honorary  or 
graduate  member  of  either  Society  should  be  annually 
appointed  to  deliver  a  discourse  before  them  [Who 
cares  that  this  "them"  has  no  grammatical  antecedent? 
You  catch  the  meaning,  don't  you?]  in  joint  meeting. 

Second:  That  it  is  [no  "be"  here!]  inexpedient  to 
abolish  the  speaking  before  Commencement. 

The  recommendation  of  the  joint  committee  was  ac- 
cepted and  ratified  by  the  Halls,  and  the  selection  of 
the  first  orator  was  generously  conceded  to  Clio.  The 
choice  fell  upon  the  Honorable  Samuel  L.  Southard  (of 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  141 

the  class  of  1804)  of  New  Jersey,  a  very  distinguished 
statesman  in  his  day.  He  was  at  that  time  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  in  the  Cabinet  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  He 
spoke  Tuesday  afternoon  of  commencement  week  in 
September  1825 ;  and  his  oration  made  an  auspicious  be- 
ginning of  a  feature  of  the  Princeton  Commencement, 
long  held  in  highest  favor,  which  endured  for  more  than 
fifty  years.  It  was  finally  abandoned  because  of  the 
decreased  and  decreasing  interest  on  the  part  of  com- 
mencement assemblages  in  anything  that  savored  too 
distinctly  of  the  intellectual  life.  The  commencement 
period  for  some  years  has  placed  the  greater  stress  on 
all  the  unacademic  activities  of  student  life — social, 
athletic,  etc. ;  and  the  more  serious  pursuits,  the  real 
things  that  the  University  exists  to  exemplify  and  to 
enforce,  get  scant  attention  and  excite  little  interest, 
as  compared  with  other  times,  in  the  busy,  happy, 
pathetic  days  that  mark  the  closing  of  the  scholastic 
year. 

In  the  long  period  while  this  feature  of  commencement 
week  flourished,  and  men  still  cared  for  academic  ora- 
tory, many  men  of  great  fame  and  worth  in  American 
public  life  represented  Whig  or  Clio  on  the  platform  of 
the  old  First  Church,  on  Tuesday  of  commencement 
week,  speaking  to  enthusiastic  and  delighted  audiences. 
But  who  now  would  care  for  a  list  of  their  names  or  of 
their  subjects?    Always  they  received  the  formal  thanks 


142  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

of  the  Societies,  coupled  with  a  request  for  permission 
to  publish  their  "able  and  eloquent" — and  that  indeed 
they  often  were — addresses.  In  the  library  of  the  Uni- 
versity, unread  and  unnoted,  volumes  of  these  addresses 
are  carefully  preserved.  Even  a  cursory  thumbing  of 
their  unsoiled  pages  shows  they  have  a  strong  family 
likeness,  after  the  similitude  of  baccalaureate  sermons. 
They  speak  in  tones  of  tender  reminiscence  of  the  joys 
and  the  solicitudes  of  student  life ;  they  voice  regret  that 
fuller  use  of  its  opportunities  was  not  made;  they 
abound  in  good  advice  and  sound  maxims  of  virtue,  suffi- 
cient to  save  the  world.  Ah,  how  familiar  it  all  is,  and 
how  little  ardent  youth,  with  all  the  world  before  them 
where  to  choose,  give  heed  to  the  wise  admonitions  of 
those  that  already  know  somewhat  of  that  world ! 

On  more  than  one  occasion  the  Societies  sought  to  ar- 
range to  be  represented  alternately  by  a  poet  also  at 
Commencement.  But  the  poets,  for  a  wonder,  seemed 
to  be  exceeding  shy  of  the  wooing  of  the  Halls,  and  so 
all  eiforts  in  this  direction  failed;  without  serious  loss, 
one  may  well  believe,  to  literature.  It  is  seldom,  indeed, 
that  the  "occasional"  poem  rises  level  to  the  occasion, 
much  less  survives  it. 

There  has  always  been  great  rejoicing  in  either 
Hall  when  the  record  of  the  year  has  shown  that  it  has 
carried  off  the  majority  of  the  college  honors.  When, 
as  sometimes  has  happened,  one  or  the  other  Hall  has 


COMPETITIONS  AND  HONORS  143 

won  all  the  chief  honors  for  that  year,  the  jubilation  and 
the  exultation  among  the  members  of  the  winning  Hall 
have  been  exceeding  great,  and  the  depression  and  gloom 
of  the  members  of  the  other  Hall  correspondingly  pro- 
found, and  yet  relieved  by  a  determination  to  show  an- 
other year  that  they  were  neither  defeated  nor  dis- 
couraged. Clio,  especially  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  manifested  her  pride  in  those  of  her 
sons  who  won  high  honors  in  many  ways.  She  bestowed 
gold  medals  or  keys  upon  them ;  she  hung  their  portraits 
on  her  walls;  and  she  wrote  them  elaborate  letters  of 
congratulation  and  commendation  which  were  spread 
at  large  on  the  minutes,  the  adulatory  phrases  of  which 
are  still,  even  in  this  colder  and  more  prosaic  age,  a  joy 
to  read. 

Probably,  in  the  long  years  since  1765,  there  has  been 
no  great  difference  in  the  aggregate  of  college  honors 
taken  by  Whigs  and  Clios.  It  would  be  a  tedious  and 
not  very  profitable  task  to  compile  the  exact  facts  from 
the  records.  From  what  examination  the  author  has 
made  he  believes  there  would  be  a  slight  preponderance 
in  favor  of  Clio.  That  at  least  is  shown  in  the  record  of 
the  Junior  Orator  and  the  Lynde  debate  prizes  already 
given.  It  is  shown  likewise  in  the  combined  record  of 
the  three  chief  honors  of  commencement  day,  the  Latin 
salutatory,  the  English  salutatory,  and  the  valedictory 
oration.     From  the  Commencement  of  1765  to  that  of 


144  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

1915  inclusive,  except  the  years  1776-1778  when  the 
stress  of  war  prevented  regular  commencement  exercises, 
a  Clio  was  the  Latin  salutatorian  eighty  times.  During 
the  hundred  and  twelve  years  in  which  the  second  honor 
usually  went  to  the  English  salutatorian  a  Clio  received 
the  honor  sixty-two  times.  From  1765  to  1915  (for 
1767  there  is  no  record  of  a  valedictorian  nor  was  there 
any  of  course  for  1776-1778)  a  Clio  was  valedictorian 
seventy  times.  Thus  of  the  four  hundred  and  seven 
possible  honors  of  these  three  kinds  Clio  won  two  hun- 
dred and  twelve. 

In  scholarship,  in  debate,  and  in  oratory,  it  is  safe  to 
say,  therefore,  that  the  record  of  achievement  shows 
that  the  Cliosophians  have  been  slightly  superior  to  their 
friends  the  Whigs. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Insignia,  Initiation,  and  Secrecy 

The  Whigs  appear  to  have  taken  their  motto  at  the 
very  beginning  of  their  career.  But  Clio  got  on  pros- 
perously for  more  than  fifty  years  without  seeking  to 
embody  in  a  striking  phrase  its  predominating  principle 
or  purpose.  It  had  at  an  early  day — just  when  the  rec- 
ords do  not  show — adopted  pink  for  its  colors,  and  this 
has  always  been  retained.  And  during  half  a  century 
the  only  badge  seems  to  have  been  a  simple  pink  ribbon. 
In  March  1817  it  was  proposed  that  some  improvement 
in  the  badge  should  be  devised  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  offer  suggestions  to  that  end.  On  the  evening 
of  April  8,  1817,  the  committee  reported  in  favor  of 
adopting  a  motto,  which  with  an  image  of  the  muse 
Clio  should  be  stamped  on  the  ribbon  of  pink.  The 
committee  submitted  four  mottoes  from  which  the  Hall 
was  asked  to  make  selection.  It  promptly  chose  Prod- 
esse  qwam  Conspici.  What  the  other  three  were  the 
minutes  do  not  disclose;  regrettably,  one  cannot  help 
feeling,  for  it  would  be  most  interesting  to  compare  what 
was  rejected  with  the  noble  choice  that  was  made. 

It  would  be  interesting  likewise  to  know  how  this 

145 


146  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

motto — that  of  the  house  of  Somers — was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  committee.  Not  improbably  this  was 
done  by  some  member  of  the  Faculty,  who  recalled  the 
letter  of  Governor  Belcher  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Col- 
lege, modestly  but  firmly  refusing  to  allow  his  name 
to  be  attached  to  the  new  college  building.  The  Trus- 
tees had  presented  an  address  to  the  Governor,  dated 
Newark,  September  24,  1755,  thanking  him  in  most 
laudatory  terms  for  his  part  and  interest  in  the  creation 
of  the  College.  The  address  ended  with  this  sentence: 
"As  the  College  of  New  Jersey  views  you  in  the  light  of 
its  founder,  patron,  and  benefactor,  and  the  impartial 
world  will  esteem  it  a  respect  deservedly  due  to  the 
name  of  Belcher;  permit  us  to  dignify  the  edifice  now 
erecting  at  Princeton,  with  that  endeared  appellation: 
and  when  your  Excellency  is  translated  to  a  house  not 
made  with  hands  eternal  m  the  heavens,  let  Belcher-Hall 
proclaim  your  beneficent  act,  for  the  advancement  of 
Christianity  and  the  emolument  of  the  arts  and  sciences, 
to  the  latest  ages." 

In  his  reply  Governor  Belcher  had  these  words:  "I 
take  a  particular  grateful  notice  of  the  respect  and 
honour  you  are  desirous  of  doing  me  and  my  family  in 
calling  the  edifice  lately  erected  in  Princeton  by  the 
name  of  Belcher-Hall;  but  you  will  be  so  good  as  to 
excuse  me,  while  I  absolutely  decline  such  an  honour, 
for  I  have  always  been  very  fond  of  the  motto  of  a  late 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       147 

great  personage,  Prodesse  quam  Conspici,  But  I  must 
not  leave  this  head  without  asking  the  favour  of  your 
naming  the  present  building  Nassau  Hall." 

At  all  events,  whether  by  deliberate  choice  or  by 
happy  accident,  the  motto  connects  our  Society,  in  senti- 
ment at  least,  with  the  memory  of  a  most  worthy  gentle- 
man and  with  the  very  beginning  of  Nassau  Hall.  The 
significance  of  the  motto  is  altogether  admirable,  alto- 
gether worthy  of  acceptance  as  a  guiding  principle  of 
life.  Literally  it  means  "To  be  useful  rather  than  to 
attract  attention."  But  any  number  of  paraphrases 
suggest  themselves  that  perhaps  better  reproduce  its 
spirit:  "Service  rather  than  conspicuity" ;  "Sub- 
stance rather  than  seeming";  "Genuineness,  not 
pretence";  "Sincerity,  not  simulation";  "Seriousness, 
not  affectation";  "Reality,  not  counterfeit";  "Verity, 
not  verisimilitude" ;  "Force,  not  'front.'  " 

The  motto  at  the  time  of  its  adoption  both  fairly  re- 
flected the  quality  that  had  always  been  characteristic 
of  the  discipline  of  the  Hall  and  fitly  expressed  the 
principle  which  it  was  desired  should  be  of  compelling 
force.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  all  the  long  years  since, 
this  motto  has  insensibly  exercised  a  potent  influence 
for  good,  as  inculcating  a  fine  ideal  of  conduct,  on  all 
the  sons  of  Clio. 

The  simple  badge  of  pink  ribbon,  bearing  the  figure 
of  Clio  and  the  motto,  continued  in  use  for  many  years. 


148  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

but  evidently  with  many  and  various  modifications. 
Whether  it  was  worn  regularly  or  only  on  special  or  state 
occasions  does  not  appear.  There  is  plenty  of  evidence 
during  these  years  of  growing  dissatisfaction  with  the 
badge.  It  was  "objected  to  not  only  by  members  of 
the  Society  but  by  strangers,  both  on  account  of  its 
indelicacy  [Poor,  scantily  draped  Clio !]  and  its  mean 
appearance."  Moreover,  "when  a  Brother  graduated 
from  the  Hall  he  had  no  memento  of  the  Society." 
Something  should  be  procured  "which  might  be  worn  in 
future  life."  The  agitation  came  to  a  climax  in  August, 
1835,  when  the  Hall  decided  in  favor  of  a  gold  badge, 
to  cost  not  more  than  five  dollars,  which  every  member 
should  be  required  to  obtain.  No  description  remains  of 
this  badge,  which  was  in  the  form  of  a  medal.  In  all 
probability  it  was  worn,  at  least  on  public  occasions, 
in  connection  with  the  Hall  colors.  It  is  much  to  be 
regretted,  one  must  be  allowed  to  repeat,  that  the  Hall 
has  not  preserved  in  its  archives  examples  of  its  various 
insignia — ^badges,  medals,  and  keys — and  copies  of  all 
its  oflScial  documents,  diplomas,  catalogues,  etc.  The 
work  of  its  historian  would  have  been  vastly  simpler  and 
altogether  more  satisfactory. 

This  new  badge,  superior  as  it  was  thought  to  be  to 
its  predecessor,  did  not  long  please  the  Society.  The 
annual  report  of  1837  declares :  "The  badge  has  been 
the  cause  of  much  dissatisfaction  and  a  fruitful  source 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       149 

of  contention.  The  original  badge  was  quickly  super- 
seded by  a  new  one  and  to  this  succeeded  another,  and 
each  in  its  turn  was  subjected  to  much  alteration;  that 
they  attracted  attention  [The  grammar  here  is  quite 
hopeless]  they  seem  to  have  changed  their  appearance 
and  modified  their  form  almost  with  the  succession  of  the 
seasons.  Indeed  they  form  a  congerie  [sic]  that  might 
serve  to  illustrate  the  different  tastes  and  habits  of  the 
successive  occupants  of  the  Hall.  The  last  badge,  which 
was  undoubtedly  the  most  chaste  and  classical,  was  repu- 
diated on  account  of  its  outrageous  indelicacy,  and  in 
adopting  the  present,  our  members  complain  that  they 
[who?]  have  bequeathed  to  us  absolute  vulgarity,  and 
an  ornament  which  is  better  fitted  to  grace  the  tawdry 
appendages  of  a  martial  champion  than  to  distinguish 
the  calling  of  a  student.  It  is  proposed  to  disown  the 
badge  now  tolerated  and  restore  a  former  one  which  is 
more  suitable  to  the  purposes  of  a  literary  badge." 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  learn  that  in 
November  1840  this  badge  was  abolished,  and  a  com- 
mittee, composed  of  Frederick  S.  Giger,  Theodore  L. 
Cuyler,  Nathan  M.  Owen,  and  John  D.  Scott,  was  ap- 
pointed to  devise  a  new  one.  The  committee's  sugges- 
tion was  adopted  a  few  weeks  later.  The  new  badge  con- 
sisted of  a  gold  medal  attached  to  a  pink  ribbon  two 
inches  broad  and  eighteen  inches  long  stamped  with  the 
image  of  Clio, — ^whether  as  of  old  is  not  recorded.    This 


150  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

badge  the  committee  "conceived  to  be  the  most  classical, 
and  on  that  account  the  most  appropriate  badge  for  an 
institution  such  as  ours.  It  is  also  neat  and  chaste  and 
in  every  way  becoming  a  literary  society."  What  more 
could  one  reasonably  ask?  But  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
a  Princeton  student  of  later  generations  appearing  on 
the  campus  adorned  with  a  pink  ribbon  two  inches  broad 
and  half  a  yard  in  length, — unless  in  preparation  for 
a  pee-rade,  and  then,  doubtless,  it  would  never  occur  to 
him  that  his  decoration  was  "neat  and  chaste  and  in 
every  way  becoming.'' 

In  1845  it  was  voted  that  the  badge  might  be  worn  as 
a  pin,  set  off  with  a  rosette  of  pink.  In  the  next  few 
decades  there  were  frequent  discussions  of  the  badge  and 
modifications  or  new  forms  were  from  time  to  time 
aaopted.  Gradually,  however,  the  Hall  ceased  to  attach 
much  importance  to  its  emblem,  and  while  the  Clio  pin 
can  still  be  had,  few  if  any  members  care  to  possess  one ; 
and  only  on  rare  occasions  are  the  historic  colors  worn 
or  displayed. 

It  appears  from  the  records  that  the  Clio  grip  has  had 
a  continuous  struggle  for  existence.  When  it  was  in- 
stituted, no  man  knoweth ;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that 
it  dates  from  the  very  early  days,  for  no  secret  society 
feels  itself  fully  equipped  without  possessing  a  secret 
sign.  But  evidently  it  was  not  very  seriously  regarded 
and  tended  to  fall  into  disuse.    For  a  long  period  it  may 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       151 

be  doubted  whether  any  Cliosophian  ever  even  heard  of 
its  early  existence.  The  writer  has  noted  only  two  refer- 
ences to  it  in  the  minutes.  In  1816  there  is  record  of  a 
resolution  "that  the  private  sign  (or  grip)  of  the  So- 
ciety be  given  to  new  members  when  initiated."  It  is 
evident  from  this  that  the  grip  was  no  new  thing.  Then 
there  is  complete  silence  until  1838,  when  the  Hall  or- 
dered "that  the  ancient  grip  by  which  members  of 
Clio  Hall  were  formerly  recognized  by  each  other  be 
revived."  This  form  of  expression  clearly  indicates  that 
for  some  time  the  grip  had  ceased  to  be  practiced.  And 
now  the  effort  at  revival  seems  not  to  have  endured  very 
long,  for  General  Alfred  A.  Woodhull,  of  the  class  of 
1856,  recalls  that  in  his  college  days,  while  he  was  aware 
that  the  Society  once  had  a  grip,  he  knew  of  no  one 
then  in  College  that  could  tell  what  it  was.  But  a  few 
years  later  it  was  resuscitated,  possibly  through  the  in- 
terest and  recollection  of  Professor  John  T.  Duffield 
('41),  and  began  again  to  be  ceremoniously  imparted  to 
new  members  in  the  course  of  their  initiation.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  it  is  ever  used  after  the  first  few  days 
of  novelty  have  passed. 

However  useful  a  private  sign  or  grip  may  be  for  a 
secret  fraternity  of  numerous  chapters  and  wide- 
reaching  affiliations,  it  can  have  little  value  for  the 
members  of  a  single  local  society.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  the  Clio  grip  should  so  often  have  fallen 


152  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

into  complete  disuse  and  that  it  has  seldom  seemed  to  be 
of  practical  importance. 

FofT  the  Cliosophic  Society  has  never  had  affiliation 
with  any  other  society.  Early  in  1815  a  body  of  stu- 
dents at  Yale  College,  who  had  seceded  from  the 
Linonian  Society  of  that  institution,  petitioned  the 
Hall  for  permission  to  constitute  themselves  a  branch 
of  the  Cliosophic  Society.  The  petition  excited  lively 
interest,  and  at  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the  Hall  the 
subject  for  debate  was  the  question,  "Would  it  be 
beneficial  to  the  Cliosophic  Society  to  establish  a  branch 
in  Yale  College.'^"  After  earnest  and  ample  discussion 
the  question  was  answered  with  an  emphatic  and  almost 
unanimous  negative.  A  few  years  later,  to  a  somewhat 
similar  request  from  a  society  at  Dickinson  College,  the 
Hall  replied :  "The  nature  of  the  institution  is  such  as 
not  to  admit  of  our  forming  any  connection  of  the  kind 
proposed."  And  this  attitude  of  absolute  independence 
and  individuality  has  uniformly  been  maintained.  The 
name  "Cliosophic"  has  in  more  than  one  instance 
been  applied  to  other  American  literary  societies,  sug- 
gested no  doubt  by  the  fame  of  our  Society,  but  no  such 
society  has  had  any  relations  with  ours. 

In  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
custom  was  adopted  of  conferring  gold  keys  upon  men 
of  the  graduating  class  who  took  high  honors.  In 
1810,  indeed,  the  Society  voted  a  key  to  one  brother 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       153 

"in  testimony  of  his  being  worthy  of  an  honour  though 
not  granted  one  by  the  Faculty"; — the  Society  evi- 
dently feeling  itself  better  qualified  to  determine  a 
question  of  this  kind  than  the  college  authorities. 
(There  have  been  many  instances  when  the  Hall 
has  expressed  indignant  opinion  of  purblind  faculty 
judgment.  In  June  1848,  for  example,  the  clerk  was 
instructed  by  unanimous  vote  to  write  to  the  senior 
Clios  appointed  by  the  Faculty  to  speak  at  Commence- 
ment, requesting  them  in  the  name  of  the  Society  to 
refuse  to  speak.  Whereupon  the  Trustees  took  instant 
and  vigorous  action.) 

"The  medal  to  be  presented  to  those  who  obtain  hon- 
ours for  the  Hall,"  the  record  for  1816  declares,  "shall 
be  a  gold  watch-key  about  one  and  one-half  inches  in 
length  and  of  proportionable  width.  On  one  side  shall 
be  engraved  the  figure  of  a  Grecian  temple,  as  large  as 
the  size  of  the  key  may  render  convenient ;  in  the  Temple 
a  Female  Figure  in  a  proper  habit  [note  that!]  repre- 
senting Clio,  placing  a  crown  of  laurel  upon  the  head 
of  a  youth;  on  the  top  of  the  temple  a  winged  figure, 
representing  Fame,  sounding  a  trumpet ;  over  the  Tem- 
ple, in  a  circular  form,  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom 
it  is  presented,  and  under  the  Temple  on  one  line  the 
words  In  gradu  Honoris,  and  on  another  line  the  honour 
obtained,  as  primo,  sectmdo,  etc.  (This  last,  however,  is 
to  be  inserted  or  omitted  at  the  option  of  the  person  to 


154  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

whom  the  medal  is  given.)  Near  the  upper  comers  of 
the  key  on  the  same  side  in  the  fictitious  hand  of  the 
Society  the  words,  'Founded  1765.'  On  the  other  side 
of  the  key  the  words.  Datum  a  Soc.  Clio,  Col.  N,  Caes 
iv  Kal.  Oct.  MDCCCXVI.  (The  date  to  be  thus,  or 
otherwise  as  may  really  be  the  case.)" 

So  elaborate  is  this  design  that  we  are  not  surprised 
at  the  appended  note  that  "owing  to  the  unskilfulness 
of  the  workman  this  part  [that  of  placing  the  'Temale 
Figure"  in  the  temple]  could  not  be  carried  into  effect." 

Mr.  Bailey  Tyler,  of  Haymarket,  Virginia,  has  a 
medal  which  was  given  by  the  Hall  in  1819  to  his 
grandfather,  William  B.  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  who  grad- 
uated that  year,  being  one  the  fifth-honor  men. 
(Remarkably  enough  that  year — so  inefficient  was  the 
system  of  grading — three  men  took  first  honor ;  one,  sec- 
ond honor;  three,  third  honor;  four,  fourth  honor; 
eight,  fifth  honor,  and  four,  sixth  honor.)  This  is  the 
only  honor  medal  that  the  writer  knows  to  be  in  exist- 
ence ;  but  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  others  may  have 
been  kept  as  heirlooms  in  the  families  of  early  Clioso- 
phians.  This  medal  is  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  one 
just  described,  and  bears  on  the  reverse  a  Latin  inscrip- 
tion, fixing  the  date  of  its  presentation,  exactly  corre- 
sponding with  that  given  above.  But  it  differs  very 
greatly  in  the  decoration  of  the  obverse.  Here  we  have 
depicted  a   circular  temple   of  eight   columns   with  a 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       155 

domed  roof,  from  which  radiate  shafts  of  light.  The 
temple  stands  on  what  appears  to  be  a  mound.  Along 
a  band  above  the  temple  runs  a  brief  inscription  in 
cipher  which  is  quite  unintelligible  now.  Doubtless  it 
had  pleasant  significance  to  the  happy  recipient  of  the 
medal. 

In  the  earlier  years  keys  were  given  only  (except  by 
special  vote)  to  men  that  had  taken  one  of  the  four 
highest  honors  in  the  graduating  class.  Then  for  a  few 
years  they  were  given  to  all  men  on  the  honor  list.  Fi- 
nally the/ distinction  was  confined  to  men  taking  the  three 
highest  honors.  The  last  year  in  which  keys  were  given 
was  1832;  the  Hall  after  thorough  debate  having  come 
to  the  wise  conclusion  that  "the  benefit  thereby  accruing 
to  each  that  received  the  keys  was  comparatively  small,'' 
and  that  the  money  expended  therefor  might  much  more 
advantageously  be  devoted  to  the  increase  of  the  library. 

It  was  not  many  years  after  this,  however,  that  the 
practice  was  instituted  of  giving  gold  medals  (or  their 
equivalent  value  in  books)  a-s  prizes  for  success  in  con- 
tests of  oratory,  essay  writing,  and  debate  within  the 
Hall.  These  contests  have  undoubtedly  been  highly 
beneficial  in  stimulating  interest  in  the  literary  and 
oratorical  activities  of  the  Hall. 

From  its  very  beginning,  in  all  probability,  it  has 
been  the  custom  of  the  Hall  to  grant  a  diploma  to  every 
graduate  that  had  faithfully  performed  his  hall  duties. 


156  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

At  any  rate,  there  is  positive  evidence  that  the  Plain- 
Dealing  Society,  the  predecessor  of  the  American  Whig 
Society,  granted  a  diploma  in  1766.  A  copy  of  this 
document  is  given  in  Professor  Giger's  History.  It  may 
confidently  be  inferred,  therefore,  that  the  Well-Meaning 
Society  had  adopted  the  same  practice,  and  that  this 
practice  was  continued  by  the  Societies  when  they  were 
revived  under  the  new  names.  Indeed,  the  University 
Library  has  a  Whig  diploma  given  to  a  graduate  in 
1773,  four  years  after  the  Society's  formation. 

Just  what  the  original  form  and  wording  of  the  Clio 
diploma  were,  is  not  known.  The  University  Library 
has  recently  come  into  possession  of  the  Clio  diploma 
and  the  College  diploma  granted  to  Silas  Wood,  later  an 
eminent  lawyer,  legislator,  and  the  first  and  foremost 
historian  of  Long  Island,  who  graduated  in  1789.  Both 
diplomas  are  in  manuscript  throughout,  and  are  ad- 
mirable examples  of  the  penmanship  of  the  period.  Both 
are  without  embellishment  other  than  the  ornamental 
capitals  and  flourishes  of  the  scrivener.  Both  have, 
inserted,  a  broad  ribbon  of  the  Clio  pink,  sealed  respec- 
tively with  the  Clio  and  the  College  seal.  We  may  infer, 
therefore,  that  the  College  diploma  of  a  Whig  at  that 
time  would  have  borne  the  Whig  colors.  This  Clio 
diploma  is  much  more  elaborate  than  the  College  di- 
ploma. It  is  an  oblong  parchment  sheet,  thirteen  by 
twenty  inches'  in  size.     This  is'  the  most  ancient  Clio 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       157 

diploma  that  the  writer  has  seen.  It  may  well  be  that 
it  gives  us  in  shape  and  wording  the  original  diploma; 
but  as  to  this  no  positive  assertion  can  be  made. 

Nor  do  we  know  when  the  first  engraved  diploma 
was  procured.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nineteenth  century  the  phraseology  was 
modified  and  a  new  design  for  an  engraved  diploma,  no 
description  of  which  remains,  was  obtained.  Again  in 
1811  a  new  engraving  was  ordered,  to  cost  not  to  exceed 
$800,  when  the  choice  of  Hercules  between  Virtue  and 
Pleasure  was  decided  upon  to  be  its  ornamental  feature. 
Evidently  this  did  not  prove  to  be  altogether  satisfac- 
tory, for  four  years  later  there  was  a  demand  for  a  new 
design.  Of  this  diploma  the  Hall  possesses  an  example, 
hanging  framed  conspicuously  in  the  main  corridor.  It 
is  the  diploma  conferred  in  1816  on  John  Maclean,  des- 
tined to  play  so  illustrious  a  role  in  the  history  of  the 
College  and  of  the  Society. 

Subsequently,  at  various  times,  there  were  further 
modifications  in  form  of  expression  and  emblematic 
delineation.  These  frequent  changes,  like  the  similar 
changes  in  the  constitution,  the  laws,  and  the  language 
of  the  ceremonial  addresses,  afford  further  evidence  of 
that  quality  which  has  been  a  constant  characteristic  of 
the  Society — the  desire  to  make  its  institutions  and  ut- 
terances conform  to  present  needs,  present  conceptions, 
present  ideals.     The  fundamental  principles  and  aims 


158  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

have  resolutely  been  maintained,  but  methods  of  accom- 
plishment and  modes  of  expression  have  changed  with 
the  changing  fashions  of  the  times.  So  only  can  any 
social  organism  continue  alive  and  alert. 

The  initiation  into  the  Hall  has  pretty  generally  been 
attended  with  much  pomp  and  circumstance — and,  alto- 
gether too  frequently,  with  other  things.  The  details  are 
much  better  left  to  the  imagination  or  to  the  recollec- 
tion of  one's  own  experience,  even  if  it  were  quite  proper 
to  set  them  down  in  cold  type.  The  minutes  afford  ample 
material  for  a  chapter  on  the  varying  methods  of  initia- 
tion, which  at  one  time  or  another  prevailed,  with  suffi- 
cient hints  of  the  accompanying  unauthorized  and  even 
forbidden  activities  intended  to  increase  the  hilarity  of 
the  occasion,  to  enable  one  pretty  accurately  to  guess 
what  things  were  doing  far  into  the  wee  small  hours  of 
old  initiation  nights.  Elaborate  schemes  of  initiation 
were  formally  adopted  at  times  by  the  Hall,  ingenious, 
impressive,  and  bewildering,  and  these  were  perpetrated 
with  a  zeal  and  solemnity  worthy  of  a  nobler  cause. 
There  are  intimations  of  prolonged  blindfolded  proces- 
sions up  and  down  stairs,  the  way  impeded  with  unac- 
countable pieces  of  furniture,  of  sudden  descents  by 
trap-door  or  slippery  inclined  plane  to  a  room  hung  in 
sepulchral  black,  made  hideous  with  gruesome  emblems, 
and  lighted  only  with  blue  flame ;  and  much,  much  more, 
of  equally  awe-inspiring  or  terrorizing  quality. 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       159 

For  the  most  part  these  fantastic  performances,  silly 
and  childish  as  they  may  have  been,  were  free  of  all 
harm;  though  now  and  then  a  youth  of  sensitive  or 
highly  nervous  temperament  was  so  affected  that  there 
would  be  a  buzz  of  comment  about  the  campus  for  a 
few  days,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  investigation 
and  rebuke  from  the  Faculty  followed.  Once,  indeed. 
President  Maclean,  on  hearing  exaggerated  rumors  of 
certain  initiation  devices,  wrote  an  expostulatory  letter 
to  the  Hall.  The  Hall  replied  with  offended,  almost 
presumptuous,  dignity:  "The  subject  precludes  discus- 
sion outside  the  Hall."  Even  young  men  of  steady 
nerves  and  wholly  normal  temperament  did  not  always 
recall  initiation  night  without  a  flush  of  resentment. 
Robert  McKnight  ('39),  speaking  in  1865  at  the  cen- 
tennial celebration,  said:  "I  do  not  know  what  im- 
pressions were  made  upon  the  minds  of  the  rest  of  the 
Clios  present  at  their  initiation;  but  I  know  that  upon 
my  young  mind  they  were  peculiar  and  not  altogether 
desirable.  I  remember  the  gorgons,  the  mysteries,  the 
shapes  most  dire,  painted  on  the  walls  as  we  were  taken 
up  the  staircase;  and  I  must  confess  I  felt  very  much 
like  the  hero  of  the  Mantuan  bard,  Obstupui,  stetenmt- 
que  comae,  et  vox  faucihus  haesit."  But  apparently 
in  the  earlier  time  the  initiation  was  decorously  con- 
ducted. The  letter  from  a  graduate  of  1802,  given  by 
Professor  Giger,  asserts:  "The  ceremony  of  admission 


160  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

was  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  I  have  ever  known 
in  my  experience.  The  unlooked-for  dignity  and  se- 
riousness of  the  scene  quite  overturned  my  levity,  and  I 
could  scarcely  believe  the  change  one  brief  hour  had  pro- 
duced. And  I  am  far  from  being  impressionable,  to  use 
a  Gallicism." 

Now  and  again  there  was  lively  discussion  in  the 
Hall  over  the  excesses  of  initiation  night;  and  the 
determination  would  be  reached  to  reform  them  alto- 
gether. Then  for  a  period  extreme  dullness  and  de- 
corum would  characterize  the  occasion,  until  there  would 
be  a  demand  for  a  return  to  the  old  order,  the  new  mode 
of  procedure,  as  a  special  committee  on  the  subject  in 
1858  declared,  not  being  "sufficiently  horrific  and  melo- 
dramatic." Even  at  the  present  time,  if  report  speak 
truly,  initiation  night  has  not  been  robbed  of  all  its 
anxieties  for  the  neophyte.  The  very  word  "initiation" 
seems  to  suggest  to  the  youthful  mind  (perhaps,  also  to 
the  average  man,  no  longer  youthful)  that  some  more  or 
less  ludicrous  or  terrifying  ordeal  should  accompany  its 
fulfilment.  But  one  might  reasonably  suppose  that 
entrance  into  a  literary  society  could  be  signalized  by 
some  form  of  ceremony  which  should  be  much  more  im- 
pressive and  convenient  (in  the  good  old  meaning  of  that 
word)  than  grotesque  horse-play  or  frivolous,  if  harm- 
less, indignities. 

Down  to  the  autumn  of  1851  it  was  the  custom  in 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       161 

Hall  to  use  the  term  "Brother"  in  addressing  a  fellow 
member  or  referring  to  him.  Then  the  practice  was 
abandoned  and  "Mister"  was  used  until  the  spring  of 
1857,  when,  on  the  advice  of  the  old  graduates.  Brother 
was  brought  back  into  use  and  so  continued  until  the 
revision  of  the  constitution  in  1862.  Of  course  this 
form  of  address  was  forbidden  in  public.  It  was  one  of 
the  jealously  kept  secrets,  and  its  use  in  the  hearing 
of  an  outsider,  even  though  quite  involuntary,  subjected 
the  culprit  to  discipline. 

All  the  other  secrets,  relating  to  the  titles  of  the  offi- 
cers, the  fictitious  names,  the  kind  and  order  of  the 
exercises,  etc.,  etc.,  were  of  similar  intrinsic  importance, 
and  every  effort  was  made  religiously  to  guard  them. 
The  Cliosophians  were  no  more  zealous  in  this  respect 
than  the  Whigs.  Woe  unto  the  meniber  of  either  Hall 
that  wilfully  divulged  to  a  member  of  the  rival  society 
anything  that  took  place  in  Hall  or  any  fact  regarding 
its  officers  or  activities.  He  was  sure  to  be  dealt  with 
summarily  and  severely. 

Each  Hall  assisted  the  other  in  discovering  and  disci- 
plining those  guilty  of  blabbing.  Even  thoughtless  in- 
advertencies of  speech  or  unconscious  allusions  to  Hall 
affairs  from  which  a  Whig  might  draw  inferences 
brought  condemnation  and  reproof.  The  minutes 
abound  in  transcripts  of  correspondence  between  the 
Halls  on  this   score,  in  accounts   of  investigations  by 


162  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

committees,  in  reports  of  trials  of  men  charged  with  this 
oifense,  and  in  statements  of  the  penalties  inflicted. 

A  favorite  method  of  "hoaxing"  a  freshman  soon 
after  his  admission  to  Hall  was  for  a  group  of  sopho- 
mores, all  Clios  but  one  of  whom  pretended  to  be  a 
Whig,  to  enter  into  conversation  with  the  freshman. 
The  pretended  Whig  would  mention  casually  some  pro- 
found Clio  secret.  The  others  would  be  indignant  and 
demand  how  he  knew.  He  would  boast  that  he  knew 
much  more  than  he  had  already  intimated  and  give  the 
poor  freshman  as  his  authority.  The  latter's  protesta- 
tions of  innocence  would  be  scouted,  his  accuser  asking 
him  reproachfully  if  he  had  really  forgotten  what  he 
said  the  other  night  when  he  had  taken  too  much. 
Whereupon  more  reproaches  from  the  group ;  more  hints 
of  dire  consequences  when  the  Hall  should  take  up  the 
case;  more  amazement  that  he  could  have  been  so  un- 
mindful of  his  oath;  more  pity  for  his  impending  dis- 
grace, until  the  protesting,  denying,  appealing  youth 
was  thoroughly  frightened.  Then  the  tormentors  either 
relented,  and,  revealing  the  hoax,  made  the  freshman 
stand  treat,  or  they  left  him  to  his  misery  until  he 
someway  learned  the  truth  himself. 

Unquestionably  this  determination  of  the  Halls  to  pro- 
tect their  secrets,  however  unimportant  they  really 
were,  had  a  beneficial  influence  on  the  members.  It 
exalted  the  dignity  of  the  Halls  in  the  estimation  of 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       163 

the  members ;  it  stimulated  their  loyalty  and  rivalry ; 
and,  more  important  still,  it  impressed  them  with  the 
high  duty  of  faithfully  observing  their  plighted  word. 
It  did  not  so  much  matter  that  the  secrets  themselves 
had  little  significance.  It  mattered  greatly  that  the 
promise  to  hold  them  sacred  should  not  be  violated. 
Here  was  a  real  test  of  character.  . 

Doubtless  the  secrecy  of  the  Halls,  such  as  it  was, 
long  served  a  good  purpose.  The  minutes  afford  re- 
peated evidence  that  for  a  century  or  more  it  was  in- 
tensely cherished.  Thus,  one  evening  in  1799,  a  mem- 
ber was  censured  for  leaving  a  painter  alone  in  the 
Hall;  and  this  incident  led  to  the  immediate  adoption 
of  two  resolutions  for  the  better  protection  of  the  Clio- 
s'ophic  mysteries.  The  first  ordered  "that  whenever  any 
member  [shall]  introduce  any  person  not  a  member  of 
this  Society  into  the  room,  he  shall  remove  all  the  books 
and  papers  indicative  of  the  proceedings  of  Society 
from  view  and  the  tables  from  their  proper  places." 
The  second  made  it  the  duty  of  "the  key-keeper  to  bum 
all  the  useless  papers  lying  in  the  Hall  which  would  lead 
to  a  discovery  of  the  secrets  of  this  Society."  Regula- 
tions of  similar  intent  are  frequently  recorded.  The 
annual  report  of  1854,  after  recounting  the  entrance 
of  a  stranger  by  mistake  into  the  Hall  and  the  conse- 
quent purchase  of  a  secret  lock  "to  prevent  the  recur- 
ance  (sic)  of  similar  accidents,"  goes  on  to  say:    "By 


164  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

this  means  we  can  preserve  our  secrecy  inviolate.  Ever 
may  it  continue  so,  and  never  may  the  day  come  when 
Clio  Hall  and  her  mysteries  shall  be  exposed  to  the 
impertinent  gaze  of  the  world." 

But  long  ago  there  began  to  be  those  in  both  Halls 
who  questioned  the  utility  of  continuing  to  maintain 
secrecy.  These  in  later  years  constantly  grew  in  num- 
bers and  influence;  and  early  in  the  college  year  1914- 
1915,  as  the  result  of  renewed  agitation  and  negotiation 
between  committees  of  the  two  Halls  in  the  preceding 
semester,  their  view  prevailed  and  secrecy  as  between  the 
two  was  practically  abolished.  Under  present  condi- 
tions the  business  proceedings  of  the  Halls  still  remain 
secret,  and  students  that  are  members  of  neither  are 
not  permitted  to  enter  the  doors  of  either  of  them  at 
any  time.  But  a  Whig  may  enter  Clio  Hall  with  a 
Clio,  or  a  Clio,  Whig  Hall  with  a  Whig,  except  at  the 
time  of  business  meetings  or  hall  smokers ;  and  either 
Hall  may  be  opened  for  inter-hall  debates,  or  for  the 
meetings  of  literary  clubs,  composed  of  Whigs  and 
Clios,  or  for  speeches  by  outsiders  which  members  of 
both  Halls  may  attend. 

The  hope  is  that  these  ancient  institutions  of  student 
self-culture  in  intellectual  activities  and  in  parlia- 
mentary training  are  entering  on  a  new  epoch  of  in- 
creased vigor  and  usefulness.  As  a  propitious  sign  for 
the  future,  it  may  be  noted  that  immediately  under  the 


INSIGNIA,  INITIATION,  SECRECY       165 

new  relations,  a  series  of  inter-hall  debates,  taking 
place  alternately  in  each  Hall,  was  arranged;  and  dur- 
ing the  year  Clio  provided  a  notable  course  of  eight 
lectures,  open  to  members  of  both  Societies,  by  men  of 
very  great  distinction  as  publicists  and  writers,  who 
spoke  on  various  questions  relating  to  the  frightful 
European  war. 


CHAPTER  VII 


Interests  and  Incidents 


The  minutes  from  the  earliest  years,  as  well  as  the 
annual  reports,  show  that  the  hall  library  has  been  an 
object  of  constant  solicitude.  For  many  decades,  when 
the  college  library  was  meagrely  supplied,  the  hall 
library  was  a  most  valuable  supplement  to  that  of  the 
College,  and  the  Hall  regularly  appropriated  for  the 
purchase  of  new  books  all  that  it  could  possibly  spare 
after  paying  the  necessary  running  expenses.  The 
books  selected  were  for  the  most  part,  as  records  of 
purchases  show,  the  works  of  standard  authors  in  pure 
literature,  in  history,  politics,  travel,  science,  and 
scholarship.  By  the  time  the  new  Hall  was  built  the 
single  upper  room  in  what  is  now  Stanhope  Hall  which 
had  to  serve  the  Society  for  all  purposes  was  over- 
crowded with  books,  the  number  being  more  than 
twenty-five  hundred. 

The  care  of  the  books  in  those  years  was  always  a 
serious  problem.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  exact 
system,  or  if  so  great  laxity  in  enforcing  it,  of  account- 
ing for  the  books  taken  out  or  making  certain  of  their 
return.    Men  were  fined,  to  be  sure,  for  using  the  books 

166 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  16T 

without  covering  them  and  for  retaining  them  overtime. 
But  evidently  it  was  easy  for  men  to  take  books  away 
without  leave  and  to  forget  to  return  them.  There  is 
frequent  complaint  of  missing  books,  of  valuable  sets 
being  broken,  of  books  with  the  Clio  mark  turning  up 
in  second-hand  shops  and  out  of  the  way  places.  Reg- 
ularly near  the  end  of  every  college  year  committees  of 
search  were  appointed  to  scour  the  college  and  seminary 
rooms  and  the  houses  of  the  village  and  gather  in  the 
missing  and  forgotten  books.  A  careful  investigation 
of  the  library  early  in  18S8  revealed,  to  the  amazement 
of  the  members,  that  nearly  nine  hundred  volumes  were 
missing.  Prodigious  efforts  were  put  forth  to  rescue 
them.  A  notice  even  was  inserted  in  the  Princeton 
Whig,  calling  upon  everyone  that  had  Clio  books  im- 
mediately to  return  them.  But  more  than  half  of  the 
missing  volumes  failed  of  recovery.  From  time  to  time 
the  broken  sets  and  the  old  and  worn  books  were  weeded 
out  and  disposed  of  by  lottery  or  sale  to  members  or 
were  sold  to  second-hand  dealers  to  make  room  for  new 
and  more  desirable  works. 

It  was  not  till  long  after  the  library  was  established 
in  its  own  room  in  the  new  Hall  that  anything  like  an 
orderly  arrangement  of  the  books,  an  adequate  cata- 
logue, or  a  reasonably  effective  method  of  insuring  the 
safety  and  return  of  books  lent  came  into  existence. 
Very  few,  if  any,  of  the  books  purchased  in  the  older 


168  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

time  now  remain  in  the  Hall  library.  Most  that  still 
endured  were  transferred  to  the  University  Library  some 
years  ago.  Indeed,  the  only  ancient  volume  that  the 
writer  has  observed  on  the  shelves  is  one  with  a  history. 
It  is  Littleton's  "Latine  Dictionary  In  Four  Parts, 
I  An  English-Latine  II  A  Latine-English  III  A  Latine 
Proper  IV  A  Latine  Barbarous,  Wherein  The  Latine 
and  English  are  adjusted,  with  what  care  might  be,  both 
as  to  Stock  of  Words  and  Properties  of  Speech,'^  which 
was  printed  in  London  in  1678.  It  was  presented  to 
the  Society  by  John  Provost  just  after  his  graduation 
in  1833.  In  the  autumn  of  1864  it  was  thrown  on  a 
scrap  heap,  because  of  its  worn  condition.  Thence  it 
was  rescued  by  Charles  F.  Richardson  {^65)^  of  Had- 
donfield.  New  Jersey,  who  retained  it  for  more  than 
fifty  years.  On  January  23,  1915,  Mr.  Richardson 
restored  it  to  the  Hall,  "as  a  relic  of  early  printing, 
with  the  request  that  it  remain  in  the  library  as  long 
as  it  exists,  and  then  go  to  the  University  Library  for 
preservation." 

The  library  now  is  probably  not  appreciably  larger 
in  the  number  of  its  volumes  than  it  was  a  half  century 
ago.  Its  shelves  are  devoted  principally  to  belles  let- 
tres,  to  works  of  fiction,  both  of  the  great  novelists  of 
the  past  and  of  modem  writers,  and  to  books  of  current 
popular  interest. 

In  the  annual  report  for  1865  special  attention  was 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  169 

given  to  the  needs  of  the  library,  its  fallen  state,  and 
the  lack  of  money  for  its  renewal,  and  the  suggestion 
was  made  that  steps  should  be  taken  to  create  an  en- 
dowment fund  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  annual 
meeting  "highly  approved"  of  this  suggestion,  and 
"recommended  to  the  attending  members  to  take  im- 
mediate measures  for  carrying  this  suggestion  into  ef- 
fect." Accordingly,  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  college 
year,  the  Society  promptly  acted,  appointing  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Professor  John  T.  Duffield,  ever  willing 
and  indefatigable  in  the  service  of  Clio,  was  made  chair- 
man, to  solicit  subscriptions.  This  committee  at  once 
sent  out  an  appeal  to  Cliosophians,  urging  "that  unless 
the  endowment  of  our  library  be  speedily  consummated, 
we  can  not  hope  to  compete  with  our  rival  successfully 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past."  The  appeal  brought 
meagre  results.  The  first  considerable  gift  to  the  de- 
sired end  was  made  at  the  Commencement  of  1868  by 
the  Honorable  John  I.  Blair,  who  a  few  years  later  was 
to  contribute  so  generously  to  the  new  building  fund. 
He  gave  the  Society  one  thousand  dollars.  At  the  same 
time  fifteen  members  of  the  graduating  class  pledged 
themselves  to  give  ten  dollars  yearly  for  three  years. 
Other  similar  pledges  were  made  by  later  graduates  and 
contributions  were  made  at  annual  meetings  until  in 
1874  the  fund  was  something  more  than  four  thousand 
dollars.    No  efforts  have  been  made  since  that  period  to 


170  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Increase  the  endowment,  which  is  now  exactly  $4000 
and  is  invested  in  bonds.  Professor  John  T.  Duffield 
was  the  trustee  and  administrator  of  the  fund  as  long 
as  he  lived.  It  is  now  in  the  custody  of  Dean  William 
F.  Magie.  The  fund  has  produced  a  steady  though  not 
large  income  for  the  support  of  the  library. 

The  Society  possesses  one  other  endowment  fund. 
For  this  it  is  indebted  to  the  well-known  New  Jersey 
philanthropist.  Dr.  J.  Ackerman  Coles,  an  honorary 
member  of  1889.  It  is  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars 
which  Dr.  Coles  gave  to  the  Society  in  October  1902. 
According  to  the  terms  of  the  letter  of  gift,  the  ac- 
cumulated interest  from  this  foundation  is  to  be  "ap- 
plied every  four  years  for  the  purchase  of  a  portrait 
bust  of  George  Washington,  to  be  cast  in  bronze  at  the 
Barbedienne  Foundry  in  France  from  the  model  made 
from  life  by  Jean  Antoine  Houdon  in  1788,"  which  shall 
be  given  to  the  member  of  the  Society,  who,  in  a  compe- 
tition open  to  all  members,  shall  be  adjudged  to  have 
delivered  the  best  original  speech  on  some  patriotic  sub- 
ject. This  prize  has  been  competed  for  at  regular  inter- 
vals since  its  institution.  The  principal  of  this  fund  is 
to  be  kept  intact  in  perpetuity  to  serve  its  praiseworthy 
purpose.  It  is  at  the  present  time  administered  by  Dean 
William  F.  Magie. 

The  first  catalogue  of  the  members  of  the  Society 
appeared  in  18S2.    It  had  been  in  preparation  for  three 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  171 

or  four  years,  the  work  involved  being  very  great.  No 
copy  is  at  present  extant,  so  far  as  the  author  knows. 
Doubtless  it  was  incomplete  and  abounded  in  inac- 
curacies. At  irregular  intervals  since,  catalogues  have 
been  published,  and  it  is  evident  that  great  effort  has 
been  made  to  give  a  complete  and  accurate  list  of  the 
membership.  But  the  effort  has  sadly  failed  of  realiza- 
tion. The  latest  catalogue,  that  of  1914,  is  very  far 
from  being  what  it  should  be.  Errors  of  omission  and 
commission  are  deplorably  numerous.  Only  by  a  most 
careful  and  painstaking  reexamination  of  the  minutes 
of  the  Society  and  other  sources,  with  constant  com- 
parison with  the  general  catalogue  of  the  University, 
would  it  be  possible  to  present  a  reasonably  correct  and 
satisfactory  list  of  Clio's  sons.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  task  may  sometime  be  undertaken. 

The  first  reference  to  the  railway,  noted  in  the  min- 
utes, appears  in  June  1845.  The  Hon.  George  M. 
Dallas  (1810),  at  that  time  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  had  promised  to  preside  at  the  annual  meeting. 
The  Society  made  preparations  to  give  him  a  special 
welcome  on  his  arrival  from  Philadelphia.  It  was  ar- 
ranged that  a  carriage  with  a  committee  of  four  (two 
members  of  the  Faculty  and  two  students)  should  meet 
him  at  the  railway  "depot" — then  down  by  the  canal — 
and  escort  him  to  the  village.  But  at  the  eleventh  hour 
Mr.  Dallas  was  obliged  by  an  event  of  national  signifi- 


172  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

cance  to  forego  attendance  at  Commencement.  His  let- 
ter to  the  clerk  of  the  Society,  regretting  his  inability 
to  keep  his  engagement,  is  worthy  of  record: 

Philadelphia,  June  SI,  1845. 
My  dear  sir: — 

It  is  with  real  regret  that  I  am  obliged  very  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  to  apprize  you  of  my  inability  to  com- 
ply with  my  engagement  to  preside  in  Clio  Hall  on 
Wednesday  next.  The  citizens  of  Philadelphia  have 
been  greatly  agitated  by  the  death  of  General  Jackson. 
They  met  without  distinction  of  political  party,  and 
having  resolved  on  a  civil  and  military  funeral  proces- 
sion, selected  me  to  deliver  an  eulogium.  Of  this  a  com- 
mittee from  the  town  meeting  has  just  apprized  me: 
and  I  hasten  to  say  that  a  public  duty  of  this  sort 
could  alone  prevent  my  being  in  Princeton  on  Wednes- 
day. The  solemnity  here  takes  place  on  the  morning 
of  Thursday.  I  will  thank  you  to  communicate  the 
matter  to  my  young  brethren. 

Your  friend  and  servH, 

G.  M.  Dallas. 
David  Stevenson  Esq. 

The  minutes  of  the  Society  show  every  degree  of  care 
and  carelessness  in  their  transcription.  There  is  every 
variety  of  chirography  from  copperplate  perfection  to 
crabbed  illegibility.  Only  in  a  few  instances,  however, 
have  the  clerks  manifested  marked  weakness  or  striking 
originality  in  spelling.  Many  clerks  have  set  off  their 
minutes  with  really  noteworthy  frontispieces  and  tail- 
pieces, showing  clever  pen-and-ink  or  water-color  de- 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  173 

signs,  and  have  employed  various  inks  for  initial 
capitals.  This  practice  was  common  along  about 
1840.  Especially  notable  are  the  artistic  performances 
of  J.  J.  Crane,  Theodore  L.  Cuyler  (  afterwards  a  famous 
divine),  and  Eli  Whitney  in  1839,  and  of  R.  G.  Remsen 
in  1840.  A  clerk's  title  page  in  April  1866  gives  us 
the  first  intimation  we  find  in  the  minutes  of  the  exist- 
ence of  baseball.  This  presents  a  pen-and-ink  sketch 
showing  ball,  bats,  cap,  shoes,  and  belt  in  artistic  ar- 
rangement. In  the  following  autumn  there  is  a  report 
of  two  famous  games  played  on  Clio's  challenge  be- 
tween nines  of  the  two  Halls.  Clio  won  both  games ;  the 
first  by  a  score  of  41  to  12,  the  second  by  a  score  of 
32  to  13 !  The  Whigs  were  evidently  rapidly  improving 
in  their  play.  However,  there  is  evidence  in  the  "Jour- 
nal at  Nassau  Hall,"  kept  by  a  Clio  in  1786,  from  which 
quotation  has  already  been  made,  that  something 
known  as  base  ball  was  practiced  by  the  students  long 
before  this.  Under  date  of  Wednesday,  March  22,  1786, 
the  diarist  writes :  "A  fine  day ;  play  baste  ball  in  the 
campus,  but  am  beaten  for  I  miss  both  catching  and 
striking  the  Ball." 

So,  too,  the  first  allusion  in  the  minutes  to  the  actual 
existence  of  the  Civil  War  is  seen  in  the  depiction  of 
three  soldiers  on  the  decorative  title  page  of  the  min- 
utes of  clerk  Wilberforce  Freeman  ('64),  in  August 
1862.     Strangely  enough,  as  one  can  not  help  feeling. 


174  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

the  minutes  contain  no  allusion  to  the  exciting  political 
campaign  of  1860  or  to  the  secession  developments  in 
the  South  that  rapidly  followed.  The  first  intimation 
of  the  storm  that  was  brewing  is  found  in  the  spring  of 
1861,  when  two  Southern  members  of  the  Hall  that  had 
been  chosen  as  Junior  Orators  resigned  their  appoint- 
ment; one  of  them,  Edward  F.  Neufville,  of  Savannah, 
declaring  that  he  was  "compelled  on  account  of  the 
present  agitated  state  of  the  country  to  return  to  his 
home  in  the  South." 

The  subject  for  the  prize  debate  in  the  fall  of  186^ 
read :  "Was  the  President  right  in  suspending  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus?''  Other  subjects  of  debate,  reflect- 
ing interest  in  the  stupendous  national  controversy, 
were,  in  1863:  "Which  is  the  best  friend  to  the  United 
States,  England  or  France.^"  (Decided  in  favor  of 
France.)  "Is  a  paper  currency  sufiiciently  safe  to  war- 
rant its  continuance?"  (Negative  won.)  In  1864: 
"Should  England  be  held  responsible  for  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  Alabama?"  (Affirmative  won.)  "Is  the 
emancipation  proclamation  justifiable?"  (AflSrmative 
won.)  "Is  there  sufficient  reason  to  believe  that  after 
this  war  the  union  of  these  States  will  be  perfected?" 
(Affirmative  won.)  On  March  10,  1865,  just  a  month 
before  Appomattox :  "Should  we  accept  propositions  of 
peace  from  the  South?"  (Affirmative  won.)  On  May 
12,  1865 :   "Would  it  be  wise  for  the  President  to  issue 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  175 

a  general  amnesty  to  all  who  have  been  Rebels?"  (Af- 
firmative won.) 

The  Hall  showed  its  patriotism  also  in  another  way. 
The  custom  still  prevailed  in  those  years  of  adopting 
resolutions  of  condolence  and  appreciation  when  the 
death  of  any  Clio  was  announced.  The  minutes  record 
such  resolutions  concerning  many  men  that  perished  on 
the  perilous  edge  of  battle.  The  Hall,  for  example, 
lamented  the  death  of  Adjutant  Josiah  Simpson  Studdi- 
ford  ('58),  "who  fell  while  gallantly  leading  his  regi- 
ment (4th  New  Jersey  volunteers)  against  the  traitorous 
foe.  His  memory  should  be  more  honored  when  he  has 
fallen  in  so  glorious  a  cause."  Similar  expressions 
abound.  "We  ever  love,"  the  Hall  in  one  instance  de- 
clared, "to  honor  those  who  have  yielded  their  lives  in 
defense  of  liberty."  In  September,  1863,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  on  the  death  of  S.  T. 
Black  ('57),  of  Arkansas.  The  committee  reported  that 
it  had  learned  that  Black  had  died  in  the  Confederate 
service  and  asked  further  instructions.  Whereupon  it 
was  immediately  discharged.  In  the  year  following  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  Hall  ordered  a  compilation  and 
engrossing  of  a  roll  of  honor  to  contain  the  names  of 
all  the  sons  of  Clio  who  had  served  in  the  Union  army 
or  navy,  with  special  note  of  those  that  had  sealed  their 
patriotic  devotion  with  their  blood. 

Tuesday  evening,  April  18,  1865,  four  days  after  the 


176  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

tragedy  at  Ford's  theatre,  a  mournful  special  meeting 
of  the  Society  was  held.  It  was  ordered  that  the  Hall 
be  draped  in  black  "in  token  of  our  sorrow  for  the  death 
of  our  Chief  Magistrate."  At  the  annual  meeting  in 
June  following,  joy  at  the  ending  of  the  war  and  grief 
at  the  tragic  death  of  Lincoln  found  expression  in  ap- 
propriate resolutions. 

Another  instance  of  the  display  of  patriotism  by  the 
Hall,  of  much  earlier  date,  is  worthy  of  brief  record. 
This  was  the  presentation  at  considerable  cost  of  a  block 
of  marble,  decorated  with  symbolic  relief  sculpturing 
and  bearing  an  appropriate  inscription,  to  be  used  in 
the  Washington  Monument  at  the  national  capital. 
Full  details  of  this  event  are  given  by  Professor  Giger 
in  his  History.  The  matter  was  proposed  in  February 
1851.  The  block  was  completed  in  June  1853,  and  pre- 
sented through  Dr.  Frederick  S.  Giger  ('41),  who  had 
been  zealous  in  promoting  the  gift.  In  his  letter  of 
presentation.  Dr.  Giger  recalled  the  fact  that  at  the 
Commencement  of  1783,  when  Congress  was  meeting  in 
Nassau  Hall,  Washington  had  given  fifty  guineas  to 
the  College ;  that  this  sum  had  been  expended,  not  in  re- 
pairs of  the  dilapidated  building,  but  in  having  a  full 
length  portrait  of  the  General  painted  by  Charles  W. 
Peale;  that  this  portrait  was  now  hanging  in  the  Col- 
lege, "in  the  very  frame  which  contained  the  picture  of 
King  George,  and  which  was  decapitated  by  Washing- 
ton's artillery";  and  he  added: 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  177 

"We,  therefore,  with  no  ordinary  emotion,  bring  this 
offering  to  the  memory  of  him  whom  we  have  ever  re- 
garded as  our  model,  and  whose  name  always  enkindles 
our  patriotism.  .  .  .  No  sculptured  stone,  no  glowing 
phrase,  can  adequately  portray  the  unutterable  elo- 
quence of  the  heart.  The  block  which  we  present  is  but 
a  shadowy  type  of  the  veneration  and  homage  which  has 
ever  gone  forth  from  our  literary  temple  as  a  rich  cloud 
of  incense  to  the  great  and  good  Washington.  No 
Congress  has  ever  assembled  since  the  Revolution,  in 
which  this  Institution  has  not  been  largely  represented. 
Her  graduates  have  occupied  and  are  now  adorning  the 
highest  offices  in  the  State.  They  have  always  been 
found  bearing  testimony  to  the  homage  which  we  here 
pay  to  his  memory  by  their  devotion  to  and  defense 
of  the  great  principles  which  he  bequeathed  to  our 
country." 

There  have  been  innumerable  notable  gatherings  in 
the  Hall,  when  distinguished  graduates  have  returned  to 
renew  their  fealty  and  to  speak  words  of  encourage- 
ment, pleasant  to  hear,  to  the  attending  members;  or 
when  "occasional,"  or  special,  meetings  have  been  held 
to  welcome  famous  men  to  honorary  membership.  May 
9,  1817,  "an  occasional  meeting  was  called  for  the  pur- 
pose of  admitting  to  Society  the  Hon.  James  Monroe, 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  General  [Joseph] 
G.   Swift,  who  accompanied  the  President  on  a  tour 


178  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

through  the  country."  In  September,  1824,  great 
preparations  were  made  for  the  initiation  of  General 
La  Fayette  and  his  son  George  Washington  La  Fayette. 
Special  diplomas  were  executed  and  gold  medals  were 
ordered  for  presentation.  But  some  way,  alas!  our 
friends,  the  Whigs,  stole  a  march  on  Clio.  The  annual 
report  dolefully  recites:  "In  recounting  the  principal 
events  which  have  occurred  during  the  past  year  we 
would  notice  an  affair  which  has  caused  great  excitement 
among  us.  We  refer  to  the  admission  of  Major  General 
La  Fayette.  This  distinguished  patriot  was  prevailed 
upon  to  give  his  consent  to  be  proposed  an  honorary 
member  of  Society,  but  owing  either  to  the  exertions  of 
our  rival  or  the  lukewarmness  and  treachery  of  our  own 
members,  we  were  deprived  the  pleasure  of  evincing  to 
the  ^National  Guest'  our  respect  and  veneration  by 
initiating  him  during  his  visit  to  this  place."  Similar 
special  preparations  were  made  for  the  initiation  of 
President  John  Quincy  Adams  in  September,  1825, 
and  for  President  Andrew  Jackson  and  "Governor 
Cass  of  Michigan"  in  June,  1833.  On  November 
16,  1834,  Henry  Clay,  at  that  time  a  Senator,  was 
initiated  and  received  with  enthusiastic  welcome.  He 
had  been  elected  to  honorary  membership  seventeen 
years  before,  while  he  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

June  27,  1865,  the  Society  celebrated  the  hundredth 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  179 

anniversary  of  its  founding.  A  full  account  of  the  cele- 
bration is  appended  to  Professor  Giger's  centennial 
History.  It  is  necessary  here,  therefore,  to  give  only 
a  brief  summary.  In  the  morning  a  procession  of  Clio- 
sophians.  Trustees,  members  of  the  Faculties  of  the  Col- 
lege and  the  Seminary,  representatives  of  other  literary 
societies,  and  guests,  was  formed  in  front  of  Nassau 
Hall  and  marched  to  the  First  Church.  Chancellor 
Henry  W.  Green  ('20)  presided.  President  John  Mac- 
lean ('16)  offered  prayer.  A  history  of  the  Society  was 
read  by  Professor  George  Musgrave  Giger  ('41),  and 
an  oration  was  delivered  by  the  Reverend  Edward  Norris 
Kirk  ('20),  at  that  time  of  Boston  and  one  of  the  noted 
pulpit  orators  of  the  day. 

Dr.  Kirk's  theme  was  "Self-Culture,"  its  purpose  and 
the  means  and  methods  of  its  attainment.  His  words 
were  addressed  particularly  to  the  young  men  in  Col- 
lege. He  urged  them  to  strive  for  the  development  of 
all  their  powers,  physical,  mental,  moral,  and  religious. 
"Aspire,  young  friends,"  he  said,  "aim  high,  soar, — 
the  impulse  is  noble,  but  it  needs  qualification  and  guid- 
ance. Fame  is  not  the  goal;  men's  admiration,  power, 
position,  are  not  the  end  to  seek;  they  are  too  low  for 
man,  made  in  the  image  of  God.  There  is  a  better  way, 
a  better  end.  Your  own  Cliosophic  motto  gives  you 
the  key,  Prodesse  quam  Conspici.  Be  rather  than  seem ; 
seek  excellence  and  usefulness  before  admiration."  "The 


180  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

only  thorough  self-culture,"  he  said  in  conclusion,  "in- 
volves growing  into  likeness  to  Christ.  He  that  will  ar- 
rive at  the  fullness  of  the  stature  of  perfect  manhood, 
must  pass  beyond  the  heroes  of  pagan  Rome,  the  sages 
of  pagan  Greece ;  yea,  even  the  chief  apostle  of  Christian- 
ity, for  his  ultimate  model.  His  work  is  that  of  the 
sculptor,  who  having  found  some  splendid  fruit  of  Gre- 
cian art  places  it  in  his  studio;  you  enter,  and  behold, 
he  is  rapt  in  admiring  contemplation  of  this  model. 
Then,  fired  with  enthusiasm,  he  turns  from  that  to  the 
rude  block  of  marble  before  him;  cutting  and  filing, 
dashing  off  as  incumbrances  every  particle  of  the 
precious  stone  which  hinders  the  perfection  of  the 
likeness.  This  must  be  brought  to  resemble  that. 
To  secure  this  resemblance  is  the  work  of  his  hand, 
and  of  his  soul, — of  his  life.  Hie  labor,  hoc  opus 
est, — Young  brethren,  to  shine  as  planets  in  the  upper 
firmament,  you  must  get  all  your  light  from  the 
Central  Sun." 

When  the  exercises  in  the  church  were  over,  a  colla- 
tion was  served  in  Mercer  Hall,  which  was  decorated 
with  the  mottoes  of  the  Halls  and  with  the  names  of  the 
founders  and  other  distinguished  sons  of  Clio.  The 
first  toast  proposed  was  "Our  Sister  Association — the 
American  Whig  Society,"  to  which  Colonel  William  C. 
Alexander  ('24)  responded.  His  speech  was  in  praise 
"of  the  institution  with  which  these  two  Societies  are 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  181 

connected,"  in  thinking  of  which  "we  stand  on  a  com- 
mon platform.  Her  glory  is  our  glory;  her  reputation 
is  the  joint  property  and  possession  of  the  two  So- 
cieties." Aye,  verily,  from  of  old  and  always!  "No 
clime  is  so  remote,"  he  said,  "that  it  has  not  been  vis- 
ited ;  no  air  so  pestilential,  it  has  not  been  breathed ;  no 
danger  so  great,  it  has  not  been  encountered,  unap- 
palled,  by  the  sons  of  this  College  in  the  performance  of 
the  duty  which  they  felt  was  pressing  upon  them.  En- 
deavoring to  make  man  wiser,  purer,  better,  happier; 
pointing  to  his  duty  and  his  destiny;  teaching  him  his 
duty  first  to  God,  then  to  his  neighbor  and  his  country, 
they  have  been  enabled  to  perform  a  benevolent  part  in 
the  world.  A  fierce  fight  is  waging  between  light  and 
darkness,  truth  and  error;  and  this  institution  is  pre- 
paring champions  for  the  conflict.  Education  alone 
will  not  do  it ;  you  may  enlighten  the  intellect,  but  unless 
you  reach  the  heart  the  labor  is  in  vain.  Our  province 
is,  not  only  to  inculcate  knowledge,  but  those  principles, 
the  application  of  which  banishes  implements  of  cruelty, 
arrests  the  progress  of  superstition,  cools  passion,  ex- 
tinguishes vice  and  misery,  and  saves  from  national 
degradation  and  ruin." 

Following  a  "Centennial  Ode  of  Welcome,"  from  the 
pen  of  Alfred  H.  Fahnestock  ('68),  sung  by  the  com- 
pany to  the  tune  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  the  best  of 
whose  seven  pitiful  stanzas  was, 


182  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

"Why  meet  we  here  with  song  and  cheer, 

A  Cliosophic  band? 
Because  we  still  in  heart  and  will 

Indissoluble  stand; 
And  though  the  years  bring  joy  and  tears, 

Joy  speaks  but  Grief  is  dumb; 
And  Hope's  fair  hand  our  sky  has  spanned 

For  all  the  years  to  come," 

Ex-Chancellor  Oliver  Spencer  Halstead,  who  had  grad- 
uated fifty-five  years  before,  when  the  Society  was  only 
forty-five  years  old,  spoke  to  the  toast,  "The  Cliosophic 
Society,"  confining  himself  to  reminiscences  of  the  Clios 
of  his  class,  especially  George  M.  Dallas,  Vice-President 
in  the  time  of  Polk. 

The  great  scientist,  Joseph  Henry,  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  Whig  Hall,  spoke  next  for  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, recalling  his  life  as  professor  at  Princeton.  "I 
was  not  so  fortunate,"  he  said,  "as  to  be  one  of  Prince- 
ton's sons.  I  am  an  adopted  son,  however.  She  received 
me  kindly,  took  me  into  her  bosom,  nurtured  me;  and 
I  can  say  that  during  the  sixteen  years  that  I  resided 
here,  I  felt  myself  constantly  growing,  constantly  de- 
veloping, from  the  air  of  this  venerated  institution, 
which  was  redolent  of  great  thoughts." 

Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  President  of  Hanover  Col- 
lege, responded  to  the  toast,  "All  the  other  Literary 
Societies  of  the  Land  and  all  the  Literary  Institutions 
of  the  Country."  His  climax  was :  "No  other  one  in- 
stitution possesses  the  hold  and  power  of  a  college.     In 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  183 

the  college,  no  one  agency  exerts  more  moulding  power 
than  the  literary  societies.  The  mental  attrition,  the 
compression,  the  spur, — all  the  other  influences  that  put 
on  or  take  off,  or  develop  character  and  modify  temper 
and  cement  relationships  are  found  in  the  society  halls 
as  they  are  found  nowhere  else.  On  behalf  of  the  West, 
I  tender  homage  to  this  Society,  magna  mater  mrorum. 
A  hundred  years  have  added  to  her  benignity;  may  a 
hundred  more  find  her  in  the  dignity  and  bloom  of  her 
youth!"   (So  say  we,  all  of  us !) 

There  followed  brief  speeches  by  Professor  Lyman  H. 
Atwater,  speaking  as  an  alumnus  of  Yale,  and  by  James 
M.  McDonald,  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  and  Pro- 
fessor Stephen  Alexander,  speaking  as  alumni  of  Union 
College,  all  emphasizing  the  value  of  the  training  af- 
forded by  college  literary  societies  ;  by  Dr.  Kirk,  the  ora- 
tor of  the  morning,  by  the  Hon.  Robert  McKnight  ('69), 
by  A.  O.  Zabriskie  ('^5),  and  by  Dr.  George  M.  Maclean 
('^4).  The  celebration  was  brought  to  a  close  by  Dr. 
Elijah  R.  Craven  ('42),  pronouncing  a  benediction. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
this  centennial  year  a  handsome  Bible  was  presented  to 
the  Society.  From  that  time  on  it  became  customary 
to  open  the  meetings  of  the  Hall  with  reading  from  the 
Scriptures  as  well  as  with  prayer.  The  opening  with 
prayer  had  been  introduced  fifty  years  earlier. 

As  the  sesquicentennial  birthday  of  the  Society  drew 


184  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

near,  preparations  began  to  be  made  for  its  proper  ob- 
servance. A  large  committee  to  have  the  matter  in 
charge  was  constituted,  of  which  Dean  Andrew  Fleming 
West  ('74)  was  made  Chairman,  as  follows: — Faculty 
Members:  Dean  W.  F.  Magie  ('79),  Dean  H.  B.  Fine 
('80),  General  A.  A.  WoodhuU  ('56),  Professors  T.  W. 
Hunt  ('65),  William  Libbey  ('77),  H.  D.  Thompson 
('85),  G.  B.  McClellan  ('86),  E.  Y.  Bobbins  ('89),  V. 
L.  Collins  ('92),  H.  V.  Covington  ('92),  and  W.  K. 
Prentice  ('92);  Graduate  Members:  S.  J.  McPherson 
('74),  Charles  R.  Williams  ('75),  Bayard  Henry  ('76), 
M.  Allen  Starr  ('76),  John  A.  Campbell  ('77),  C.  C. 
Black  ('78),  H.  G.  DufBeld  ('81),  Robert  S.  Yard 
('83),  J.  W.  Bayard  ('85),  Charles  W.  McAlpine  ('88), 
W.  C.  Robinson  ('88),  F.  S.  Katzenbach,  Jr.  ('89), 
Alvin  C.  McCord  ('89),  F.  V.  Pitney  ('90),  Henry  W. 
Green  ('91),  Knox  Taylor  ('95),  F.  F.  Hopper  ('00), 
W.  E.  Hope  ('01),  A.  E.  Vondermuhll  ('01),  A.  J. 
Barron  ('02),  M.  Struthers  Burt  ('04),  C.  H.  Gamble 
('05),  N.  Ewing,  Jr.  ('09),  Jesse  Herrman  ('10), 
Theodore  Janeway  ('10),  C.  C.  Savage,  Jr.  ('11),  C. 
C.  Belknap  ('12),  Wm.  M.  Chester  ('13),  Roger  W. 
Straus  ('13),  and  Julius  O.  Adler  ('14)  ;  Undergradu- 
ate Members:  R.  Rowland  ('15),  Chairman,  W.  S. 
Rusk  ('16),  Secretary,  D.  W.  Carruthers  ('15),  W.  H. 
Haines  ('15),  J.  C.  Healey  ('15),  S.  M.  Robinson 
('15),  J.  McI.  Smith  ('16),  B.  B.  Atterbury  ('16),  S. 


Oliver  Ellsworth,  Class  cf  1766 


[From   the   miniature   by   Trumbull,   owned   by    Yale    University] 


INTERESTS  AND  INCIDENTS  185 

L.  Praner  ('16),  C.  S.  Tippetts  ('16),  N.  M.  Chester 
('17),  and  J.  P,  Fishburn  ('18)  ;  Honorary  Members: 
Henry  van  Dyke  ('73),  Mahlon  Pitney  ('79). 

The  following  sub-committees  were  named:  Execu- 
tive, with  Dean  West  as  chairman ;  Finance,  Mr.  Bayard 
Henry,  chairman;  Exercises,  Professor  Thompson, 
chairman ;  History,  Professor  Collins,  chairman.  It  was 
at  first  suggested  that  effort  be  made  to  have  the  cele- 
bration rival  that  of  the  centennial  anniversary,  with 
academic  procession  to  Alexander  Hall  to  listen  to  a 
public  oration  by  a  distinguished  alumnus,  and  a  ban- 
quet and  speeches  at  Procter  Hall.  But  Monday  of 
commencement  week  is  so  filled  with  class  day  activities 
that  such  a  plan  was  felt  to  be  impracticable. 

It  was  decided  to  provide  for  the  publication  of  a 
history  of  the  Society,  and  to  combine  the  celebration 
of  the  eventful  anniversary  with  the  proceedings  of  the 
regular  annual  meeting.  This  fell  on  Monday,  June  14, 
1915,  at  quarter  past  ten  in  the  morning.  In  prepara- 
tion for  the  occasion  the  Hall  had  been  tastefully 
draped  with  the  pink  of  the  Society  and  the  orange  and 
black  of  the  University.  The  President  of  the  Annual 
Meeting  was  James  Wilson  Bayard  C^^)^  ^^^  ^^^  order 
of  exercises  was  as  follows : 

Reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  Prayer  by 

The  Reverend  Dr.  George  C.  Yeisley  '70 

Reading  of  the  Annual  Report  by  the  Junior  Historian 

Clarence  Muir  Tappen  '16 


186  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Presentation  of  Diplomas  to  the  Grraduating  Class 

Address  by 

The  Hon.  Frank  S.  Katzenbach,  Jr.  '89 

"The  Cliosophic  Society,  Past  and  Present" 

Old  Nassau 

The  chief  commemorative  feature  of  the  exercises  was 
the  address.  Unfortunately,  it  was  not  committed  to 
manuscript;  so  it  can  not  be  embodied  in  this  volume. 
Mr.  Katzeribach  gave  an  interesting  review  of  the  found- 
ing and  the  progress  of  the  Society,  and  dwelt  with 
genuine  eloquence  on  the  great  names  that  have  adorned 
our  annals,  and  on  the  spirit  of  sincerity  and  honest 
effort  which  has  animated  the  Hall's  endeavors.  The 
motto  has  been  more  than  an  empty  phrase.  It  has 
expressed  the  ideal  of  character,  the  principle  of  con- 
duct, which  through  all  its  vicissitudes  the  Cliosophic 
Society  has  sought  to  exemplify  and  to  make  controlling 
influences  in  the  spiritual  and  practical  lives  of  her 
members. 

Those  who  heard  the  address  felt  a  fresh  glow  of  satis- 
faction that  Clio  had  been  their  protectress  in  college 
days,  increased  enthusiasm  for  our  noble  motto,  and  new 
hope  and  confidence  that  the  Society  which  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  has  filled  so  large  and  worthy  a 
place  in  the  life  and  affections  of  Princeton  students 
will  abide  while  the  University  abides  in  undiminished 
vitality  and  vigor. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


The  Sons  of  Clio 


Any  undergraduate  student  in  the  University,  not  a 
member  of  Whig  Hall,  is  eligible  for  admission  to  Clio 
Hall.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Society,  when  the  num- 
ber of  students  was  small,  close  scrutiny  was  made  of 
the  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  of  candidates  for 
membership,  and  young  men  considered  undesirable  on 
either  score  were  rejected.  In  the  letter  from  a  graduate 
of  the  class  of  1802,  which  Professor  Giger  gives,  we 
read :  "A  young  man  was  allowed  a  month  after  enter- 
ing College  to  select  [between  the  two  Societies].  .  .  . 
Unlucky  was  the  youth  who  could  not  be  admitted.  He 
could  never  hold  a  respectable  standing.  His  name, 
proposed  after  a  month  in  the  class,  lay  one  week  under 
consideration;  all  eyes  were  of  course  upon  him;  his 
manners,  habits,  his  standing  in  his  class,  and  general 
conduct  were  considered;  perhaps  his  classmates  were 
examined,  and  he  was  admitted  or  rejected,  knowing  no 
more  of  what  was  passing  than  an  utter  stranger.  If 
no  cause  of  objection  appeared,  he  was  received;  but  if 
any  black  spot  was  found,  it  was  a  very  easy  matter  to 
close  the  door  against  him.    Fairness  and  liberality  pre- 

187 


188  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

vailed."  If  after  a  young  man's  admission  serious  de- 
fects in  character  or  deficiencies  in  scholarship  were 
discovered  or  developed,  and  these  were  found  to  be  in- 
corrigible, he  was  "separated"  from  the  Society. 

The  Society  of  course  retains  its  powers  of  discipline, 
but  these  have  long  been  exercised  without  censorious 
severity.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the  members  will 
conduct  themselves  as  gentlemen.  The  Hall  offers  its 
facilities  and  opportunities  for  rhetorical  culture  and 
parliamentary  training.  It  urges  all  its  members  to 
make  the  best  use  of  them ;  but  it  does  not  bother  itself 
overmuch  with  the  individuals  that  are  lax  or  negligent. 
But,  of  course,  at  graduation,  now  as  always,  the  hall 
diploma  is  conferred  only  on  those  who  have  conscien- 
tiously performed  a  specified  minimum  of  required 
exercises. 

In  its  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  life  the  Hall  has  had 
on  its  roster  of  membership  something  more  than  seven 
thousand  names;  a  somewhat  larger  number  than  its 
friend  and  rival  has  counted.  Of  these  seven  thousand, 
five  thousand  in  round  numbers  had  graduated  from  the 
College  or  University;  some  seventeen  hundred  had  left 
the  institution  before  graduation,  and  the  rest  were 
undergraduates  at  the  time  of  the  sesquicentennial  cele- 
bration. While  the  greater  proportion  of  the  members 
has  been  drawn,  as  might  have  been  expected,  from  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York,  there  is  no  part 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  189 

of  the  country  that  has  not  been  represented.  Sons  of 
Clio  have  come  from  every  State  in  the  Union,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  two  or  three  of  the  sparsely  settled 
mountain  States  of  the  Far  West.  They  have  come  also 
from  Hawaii  and  Porto  Rico;  from  Canada,  Nova 
Scotia,  Bermuda,  Cuba,  Santo  Domingo,  and  the  West 
Indies ;  from  Brazil  and  Chili ;  from  England,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  and  Wales;  from  France,  Germany,  Switzer- 
land, Italy,  and  Greece;  from  Turkey,  Asia  Minor, 
Syria,  Persia,  and  Egypt;  from  India,  Ceylon,  China, 
and  Japan.  There  is  no  hour  of  the  day  when  the  sun 
is  not  shining  upon  some  land  whence  votaries  of  Clio 
have  sprung  or  where  in  after  years  they  have  labored 
in  good  causes. 

On  the  establishment  of  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  the  Halls  decided  to  grant  a  modified  form 
of  membership  to  a  limited  number  of  theological  stu- 
dents. These  are  known  as  "Adopted  Graduate  Mem- 
bers." They  are  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  Hall 
building,  to  the  use  of  the  library,  etc.,  but  they  do  not 
participate  in  the  management  or  the  literary  exercises  of 
the  Society.  They  are  treated  in  fact  like  regular  grad- 
uate members.  In  later  years  any  post-graduate  stu- 
dents have  been  eligible  to  this  sort  of  membership. 
From  1812  to  1915  the  Hall  elected  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  (round  number)  "Adopted  Graduates."  In  this 
list  are  found  the  names  of  many  men  that  in  their  later 


190  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

careers  filled  most  important  posts  in  Church  and  State 
and  University,  and  that  won  for  themselves  high  and 
deserved  fame. 

References  have  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that 
it  has  also  been  the  custom  of  the  Halls  to  elect  men  to 
honorary  membership.  The  Societies  have  felt  that  the 
honor  was  reciprocal,  and  the  letters  of  acceptance  re- 
ceived by  Clio,  especially  in  the  olden  time,  indicate  that 
the  writers  were  duly  appreciative  of  the  distinction 
conferred  on  them.  All  these  letters,  and  their  number 
is  legion,  were  faithfully  transcribed  in  the  minutes,  and 
the  autograph  signature  appended  by  the  use  of  paste. 
They  afford,  what  Horace  Greeley  used  to  call,  "mighty 
interestin'  readin',"  reflecting  as  they  do  both  the  epis- 
tolary fashions  of  various  periods  and  the  individual 
qualities  of  the  writers.  Nothing,  for  instance,  could 
be  more  characteristic  than  the  following  brief  letter  of 
March  29, 1859,  from  the  famous  Henry  Ward  Beecher : 
"I  received  with  pleasure  your  notification  of  my  election 
to  an  honorary  membership  of  the  Cliosophic  Society 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  You  may  be  assured  that 
I  am  not  a  member  of  the  American  Whig  Society  and 
never  will  be.  Indeed,  although  I  now  first  learn  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  society,  and  of  course  know  nothing 
of  its  members  or  principles,  yet  I  am  prepared  to  be- 
lieve them  quite  unworthy  and  much  to  be  contemned! 
I  trust  that  thus  I  shall  earn  a  place  in  the  confidence 
of  all  true  Cliosophic  men." 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  191 

Members  of  the  Faculty  coming  from  other  institu- 
tions of  learning  were  always  made  honorary  members 
of  one  Hall  or  the  other.  The  aim  was  to  keep  the 
Faculty  about  evenly  divided  between  the  two  Halls; 
and  so  the  Faculty  at  times  seems  to  have  determined 
which  Hall  should  have  the  privilege  of  electing  a  new 
professor.  Thus,  in  his  speech  at  the  centennial  ban- 
quet. Professor  Joseph  Henry  declared:  "I  am  not  a 
member  of  the  Cliosophic  Society.  I  am  a  Whig.  I 
wish  I  could  have  been  a  member  of  both.  When  I  came 
here,  I  believe  it  was  decided  in  solemn  council  that  I 
should  become  a  Whig.  I  was  rather  more  enamored 
with  the  name  Clio,  as  Whig  sounded  somewhat  political 
[He  came  to  Princeton  during  the  time  when  one  of  the 
two  great  political  parties  of  the  country  bore  the  appel- 
lation Whig]  ;  but  my  propensities  and  feelings  were  for 
the  Whigs  of  1776." 

The  first  honorary  member  elected  by  Clio,  of  whom 
we  have  record  or  tradition,  was  the  Rev.  Jedediah 
Chapman.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  an  honorary 
A.M.  of  Princeton,  of  1765.  From  1795  to  1800,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He  is  set  down 
in  our  catalogue  as  having  been  elected  in  1769,  but  that 
is  doubtless  an  error  as  the  Society  that  year  was  in  a 
state  of  suspended  animation.  All  together,  we  have  the 
names  of  sixteen  gentlemen  elected  to  honorary  member- 
ship before  1800;  the  most  distinguished  name  among 


192  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

them  is  that  of  John  Maclean,  the  promising  young 
Scotch  scientist  who  joined  the  Faculty  in  1795.  In 
this  same  period  the  Whig  catalogue  shows  only  one 
name,  that  of  the  brilliant  and  romantic  Mrs.  Annis 
Stockton,  who  is  reported  to  have  been  honored  in  1776. 
It  was  she  who  endeared  herself  to  our  friends  by  pre- 
serving the  Whig  records  during  the  troublous  days 
when  the  British  troops  were  playing  havoc  with  Nassau 
Hall.  No  other  lady,  as  far  as  the  writer  knows,  has 
ever  been  so  honored  by  either  Hall. 

Up  to  the  end  of  its  hundred  and  fiftieth  year,  Clio 
had  elected  fifteen  hundred  (round  figures)  honorary 
members.  The  list  contains  the  names  of  many  of  the 
most  famous  men  of  their  times.  Among  them  were 
these  Presidents  of  the  United  States:  James  Monroe, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  Andrew  Jackson,  Martin  Van 
Buren,  James  K.  Polk,  James  A.  Garfield,  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  Grover  Cleveland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and 
William  McKinley. 

Prominent  statesmen  and  jurists  are  very  numerous. 
Among  the  latter  are  Bushrod  Washington,  Roger  B. 
Taney,  William  B.  Strong,  John  A.  Campbell,  Stanley 
Matthews,  Morrison  R.  Waite,  Roger  A.  Pryor,  Cort- 
landt  Parker,  and  Joseph  H.  Choate;  among  the  for- 
mer :  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  William  Wirt, 
Lewis  Cass,  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Edward  Everett, 
Thomas  Ewing,  Wm.  L.  Marcy,  Silas  Wright,  W.  H. 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  193 

Seward,  Sargent  S.  Prentiss,  John  J.  Crittenden,  Fred- 
erick T.  Frelinghuysen,  Robert  J.  Walker,  Herschel  V. 
Johnson,  Howell  Cobb,  Robert  Toombs,  Alex.  H. 
Stephens,  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  Thad- 
deus  Stevens,  Wm.  L.  Yancey,  Schuyler  Colfax,  Willard 
Saulsbury,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  John  A.  Dix,  Chaun- 
cey  M.  Depew,  Wm.  B.  Allison,  Henry  C.  Lodge,  Levi 
P.  Morton,  Thomas  B.  Reed,  George  F.  Edmunds,  Wm. 
E.  Russell,  George  F.  Hoar,  John  Hay,  Arthur  J.  Bal- 
four, James  Bryce,  and  Joseph  Chamberlain. 

College  Presidents  and  professors  make  a  long  list  of 
names.  Only  some  of  those  of  greatest  distinction  and 
achievement  can  be  specified :  Eliphalet  Nott,  Jeremiah 
Day,  John  Torrey,  Charles  Anthon,  Benj.  Silliman, 
Francis  Lieber,  E.  A.  Sophocles,  C.  C.  Felton,  Simeon 
North,  Francis  Wayland,  Louis  Agassiz,  Daniel  Kirk- 
wood,  Arnold  Guyot,  Scheie  De  Vere,  Wm.  A.  Packard, 
Wm.  D.  Whitney,  Homer  B.  Sprague,  Charles  A. 
Young,  Mark  Bailey,  Cyrus  F.  Brackett,  Francis  L. 
Patton,  Simon  Newcomb,  Martin  B.  Anderson,  James 
B.  Angell,  Timothy  W.  Dwight,  Chas.  W.  Waldstein, 
W.  G.  Sumner,  Bliss  Perry,  Lord  Kelvin,  Henry  Calder- 
wood,  August  Domer,  and  Henry  Drummond. 

So,  too,  we  count  a  host  of  authors  among  our  honor- 
ary members.  This  includes:  Washington  Irving, 
William  CuUen  Bryant,  Wm.  Gilmore  Simms,  Jared 
Sparks,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  John  W.  Draper,  Don- 


194  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

aid  G.  Mitchell,  John  J.  Audubon,  James  Parton,  Fitz- 
Greene  Halleck,  Benj.  J.  Lossing,  Richard  Grant  White, 
James  T.  Fields,  John  G.  Saxe,  Paul  H.  Hayne,  John 
Bach  McMaster,  Samuel  L.  Clemens,  Edmund  C.  Sted- 
man,  John  Fiske,  John  G.  Whittier,  Lawrence  Hutton, 
Robert  Grant,  Wm.  D.  Howells,  George  W.  Cable,  Booth 
Tarkington,  Justin  McCarthy,  Conan  Doyle,  Andrew 
Lang,  Hall  Caine,  Gilbert  Parker,  A.  V.  Dicey,  Paul 
Blouet,  Rudolfo  Lanciani,  and  Henry  K.  Sienkiewicz. 

Among  the  great  preachers  on  our  list  are :  Samuel 
Hanson  Cox,  George  W.  Doane,  Edwin  F.  Hatfield, 
Leonard  Bacon,  Nathaniel  S.  Prime,  George  B.  Cheever, 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  John  Hall,  Richard  S.  Storrs, 
Howard  Crosby,  Arthur  C.  Coxe,  Chas.  Cuthbert  Hall, 
Thomas  S.  Hastings,  John  R.  Vincent,  Chas.  H.  Park- 
hurst,  Alessandro  Gavazzi,  Chas.  H.  Spurgeon,  Frederic 
W.  Farrar,  Joseph  Parker,  and  John  Watson. 

Great  editors  are  represented  by  Charles  A.  Dana, 
Alexander  K.  McClure,  Whitelaw  Reid,  Murat  Hal- 
stead,  H.  W.  Grady,  St.  Clair  McKelway,  Albert  Shaw, 
H.  C.  Trumbull,  and  Lyman  Abbott. 

Great  capitalists  and  philanthropists,  by  Thomas 
Biddle,  James  Lenox,  A.  T.  Stewart,  Alex.  Stuart, 
Wm.  E.  Dodge,  John  C.  Green,  John  I.  Blair,  Cyrus 
W.  Field,  Wm.  Libbey,  J.  Ackerman  Coles,  George 
Westinghouse,  Andrew  Carnegie,  and  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan. 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  195 

A  very  few  of  the  other  distinguished  names  on  our 
list  are:  Samuel  B.  Morse,  Charles  Lucien  Bonaparte, 
M.  F.  Maury,  George  H.  Thomas,  Edwin  Booth,  Henry 
M.  Stanley,  Thomas  Nast,  Joseph  Jefferson,  R.  L. 
Peary,  John  R.  Mott,  and  Henry  Irving. 

The  election  to  honorary  membership  of  such  men, 
and  they  are  fairly  representative  of  the  great  majority 
on  our  list,  undoubtedly  reflects  the  intellectual  taste 
and  interest  of  the  Hall  in  various  epochs  of  its  career. 
The  Society  has  shown  itself  to  be  wide  and  catholic 
in  its  sympathies. 

But  much  as  we  are  pleased  in  contemplating  the  dis- 
tinctions of  our  honorary  members,  our  chief  pride  and 
glory  are  in  the  lives  and  achievements  of  the  men  who 
have  been  active  members  of  the  Hall,  who  have  partici- 
pated in  its  endeavors  and  been  under  the  influence  of  its 
discipline.  The  more  intimately  we  study  the  wide 
diversity  and  significance  of  their  accomplishment,  the 
greater  will  be  our  pride ;  the  more  assured  we  shall  feel 
in  glorying  that  we  belong  to  the  brotherhood  of  Clio. 
It  is  quite  impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  single  chapter 
to  give  anything  like  an  exhaustive  presentation  of  the 
facts  which  such  a  study  discloses.  The  most  that  can 
be  attempted  is  a  cursory  review  with  certain  rapid 
generalizations. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  fairly  accurate  and 
satisfactory  political  history  of  the  United  States,  from 


196  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  down  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  could  be  written  from  the 
biographies  of  sons  of  Clio.  For  the  earliest  period, 
abundant  material  would  be  found  in  the  manifold  public 
activities  and  associations  of  William  Paterson  (1763), 
Oliver  Ellsworth  {'66),  Luther  Martin  ('66),  Jonathan 
Dickinson  Sergeant  ('6^),  Pierpont  Edwards  ('68),  and 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen  ('70);  not  to  mention  other 
names.  The  first  three,  as  was  shown  in  our  first  chap- 
ter, helped  to  make  the  Constitution  and  played  impor- 
tant parts  in  public  life  later.  The  last  three  were  in 
the  national  councils  before  the  Constitution  was 
formed;  and  the  last  named  also  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  while  Washington  was  President. 

In  this  same  period,  but  living  to  a  later  time,  Aaron 
Burr  ('72)  came  into  national  prominence,  first  as  a 
Senator  from  New  York  and  then  as  Vice-President  dur- 
ing Jefferson's  first  term.  How  much  of  the  political 
history  of  years  is  revealed  by  his  brilliant,  deplorable, 
pitiable  career!  In  this  period,  too,  Jonathan  Dayton 
('76),  of  New  Jersey,  served  several  terms  in  Congress, 
being  twice  elected  Speaker,  and  later  was  chosen  to  the 
Senate,  and  Henry  Lee  ('73),  "Light-Horse  Harry,"  of 
Virginia,  was  in  Congress,  both  contributing  their  share 
to  the  political  history  of  the  time.  In  1799  that  bril- 
liant, erratic,  caustic  Virginian,  John  Randolph  of 
Roanoke,  who  was  admitted  into  the  Cliosophic  Society 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  197 

in  1787,  began  his  career  in  Congress.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  he  was  a  vigorous  and  often  disturbing 
force  in  our  national  politics.  Study  his  life  and  you 
are  brought  into  intimate  relations  with  the  political 
controversies  and  policies,  the  influential  men  and  the 
decisive  measures,  of  that  period  of  American  history. 

More  distinguished  for  solid  attainment  was  the  pub- 
lic career  of  Richard  Rush  ('97),  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  Attorney-General  in  Madison's  Cabinet  from  1814 
to  1817,  when  he  was  sent  by  Monroe  to  England  as 
Minister  Plenipotentiary.  He  remained  in  that  capacity 
for  eight  years,  negotiating  several  important  treaties. 
He  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  in  1828  was  candidate,  with  Adams,  for 
Vice-President.  In  1836  he  was  sent  to  England  by 
Jackson  as  special  agent,  and  in  1847,  by  Polk  as  Min- 
ister to  France,  where  he  was  the  first  foreign  minister 
to  recognize  the  republic  of  1848. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  from  1821,  Samuel  L. 
Southard  (1804),  of  New  Jersey,  was  in  the  thick  of 
affairs — as  Senator,  as  Secretary  of  War  in  the  Cab- 
inets of  Monroe  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  and,  after 
being  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  as  Senator  again ;  dying 
in  1842,  when  he  was  President  of  the  Senate.  In  1829 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  also  of  New  Jersey  and  a 
classmate  of  Southard's,  entered  the  Senate  where  he 
served  the  Whig  cause  albly  for  one  term.     Not  long 


198  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

after  his  retirement  he  became  Chancellor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York.  In  1844  the  Whigs  nominated 
him  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Henry  Clay, 
and  six  years  later  he  assumed  the  Presidency  of  Rutgers 
College,  which  he  honored  with  years  of  service. 

During  the  same  time  George  Mifflin  Dallas  (1810), 
of  Pennsylvania,  was  rising  to  conspicuous  eminence. 
He  became  a  Senator  in  18S1 ;  was  sent  as  minister  to 
Russia  in  1837;  was  elected  Vice-President  with  Polk 
in  1844  (in  1846  casting  the  deciding  vote  for  the 
famous  Walker  tariff  law  of  that  year)  ;  was  Minister 
to  England  from  1856  to  1861.  His  political  activities 
thus  cover  the  storm  and  stress  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  great  civil  cataclysm. 

Also  in  this  period  a  figure  of  great  distinction  was 
John  McPherson  Berrien  (1796).  He  was  bom  ne.ar 
Princeton  but  went  soon  after  his  graduation  to 
Georgia.  He  entered  the  Senate  in  1824,  was  made 
Attorney-General  in  1829,  and  was  returned  to  the 
Senate  in  1840  where  he  remained  for  twelve  years, 
being  one  of  the  leaders  in  that  body.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  speakers  of  the  time  and  a  man  of 
great  political  influence.  In  this  period,  too,  George 
W.  Crawford  ('20),  of  Georgia,  who  had  been  Governor 
of  his  State,  was  Secretary  of  War  in  the  Cabinet  of 
President  Taylor;  and  at  its  very  close,  William  Pen- 
nington ('13),  who  had  several  times  been  elected  Gov- 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  199 

emor  of  New  Jersey,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives  after  a  prolonged  and  embit- 
tered contest. 

Overlapping  this  period  was  the  career  of  William  L. 
Dayton  ('^5),  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  Senator  from 
1842  to  1851 ;  was  the  candidate  of  the  new  Republican 
party  for  Vice-President  with  John  C.  Fremont  in  1856, 
and  was  sent  by  Lincoln  in  1861  as  Minister  to  France, 
where  he  died  in  1864. 

At  various  times  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  War 
and  Reconstruction,  Alexander  Hamilton  Bailey  ('37), 
of  New  York,  Charles  J.  Biddle  ('37),  of  Pennsylvania, 
James  W.  Wall  ('38),  of  New  Jersey,  Robert  McKnight 
('39),  of  Pennsylvania,  Thomas  L.  Jones  ('40),  of 
South  Carolina,  Francis  P.  Blair  ('41),  of  Missouri, 
and  Charles  Haight  ('57),  of  New  Jersey,  served  in 
the  Senate  or  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  this 
period,  too,  George  M.  Robeson  ('47),  of  New  Jersey, 
was  Secretary  of  the  Navy  throughout  President 
Grant's  administration.  Moreover,  during  the  Civil 
War,  many  sons  of  Clio  fought  in  the  armies  of  the 
North  and  of  the  South,  most  of  them  as  officers,  sev- 
eral of  whom  rose  to  be  brigade  or  division  commanders. 
And  many  Clios  held  important  civil  offices  under  the 
Confederate  regime. 

In  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  Clio 
was  represented  in  the  National  Councils  by  James  B. 


200  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Everhart  ('42),  of  Pennsylvania,  Alfred  H.  Colquitt 
('44),  of  Georgia,  James  Monroe  Jackson  ('45),  of 
Virginia,  George  M.  Robeson  ('47),  of  New  Jersey, 
John  A.  Swope  ('47),  of  Pennsylvania,  Christopher  A. 
Bergen  ('63),  of  New  Jersey,  R.  W.  Parker  ('67),  of 
New  Jersey,  and  Mahlon  Pitney  ('79),  of  New  Jersey, 
who  is  now  on  the  Supreme  Bench. 

Besides  these  names  that  have  been  singled  out  for 
special  mention,  a  host  of  other  Cliosophians  have  been 
active  and  influential  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  coun- 
try. Many  have  served  in  Congress  in  both  houses; 
have  been  ministers  to  foreign  lands ;  have  been  judges 
of  the  Federal  Courts  and  district  attorneys ;  have  filled 
responsible  places  in  the  army  and  navy  and  the  civil 
service;  have  been  Governors  and  legislators  and  judges 
of  their  States;  have  been  mayors  of  important  cities, 
and  leaders  in  all  political,  municipal,  and  social  move- 
ments in  their  communities. 

Verily,  therefore,  from  adequate  lives  of  these  men, 
recounting  their  ofiicial  actions  and  public  utterances 
and  revealing  their  multifarious  relations  and  corre- 
spondence with  influential  contemporaries,  it  would  be 
possible,  we  say,  for  the  trained  historian  to  write  a 
reasonably  complete  history  of  the  political  progress  and 
development  of  the  United  States. 

More  than  this,  the  historian  of  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  country,    during    the    same    long 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  201 

period,  in  law  and  medicine,  in  religion  and  education, 
would  find  copious  information  adapted  to  his  purpose 
in  the  lives  and  achievements  of  Cliosophians  who  rose 
to  leadership  in  all  these  causes.  At  the  same  time  a 
very  considerable  number  of  Cliosophians  have  been 
making  notable  contributions  to  the  scholarship  and 
literature  of  America.  All  this  will  abundantly  appear 
from  a  citation  of  some  of  the  more  conspicuous  names 
under  each  of  these  classifications. 

Most  of  the  men  mentioned  above  as  statesmen  wer^ 
among  the  great  lawyers  of  their  time.  On  the  Supreme 
Bench  of  the  United  States  there  have  been  five  Clio- 
sophians: Oliver  Ellsworth  (1766),  Chief  Justice,  and 
William  Paterson  (1763),  Henry  Brockholst  Livingston 
(1774),  James  Moore  Wayne  (1808),  and  Mahlon 
Pitney  (1879),  Associate  Justices.  The  list  of  Clio- 
sophians who  have  been  judges  of  other  Federal  Courts 
and  of  State  courts  is  far  too  long  to  give.  It  is  adorned 
with  many  very  distinguished  names.  But  a  few  of  the 
great  advocates  of  Clio — even  at  the  risk  of  making 
invidious  distinction  among  the  large  number — must  be 
given:  Tapping  Reeve  (1763),  of  Connecticut,  who 
established  the  first  law  school  in  America,  Morgan 
Lewis  ('73),  of  New  York,  Samuel  Bayard  ('84),  of 
New  Jersey,  Joseph  Clay  ('84),  of  Georgia,  William 
Gaston  ('96),  of  North  Carolina,  Benjamin  C.  Howard 
(1809),  of  Maryland,  Oliver  S.  Halstead  ('10),  of  New 


W2  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Jersey,  Henry  W.  Green  ('20),  of  New  Jersey,  Abraham 
O.  Zabriskie  ('25),  of  New  Jersey,  William  C.  Prime 
('43),  of  New  York,  William  J.  Magie  ('52),  of  New 
Jersey,  Alexander  T.  McGill  ('64),  of  New  Jersey, 
Adrian  H.  Joline  ('70),  of  New  York,  William  B. 
Hornblower  ('71),  of  New  York,  John  P.  Kennedy 
Bryan  ('73),  of  South  Carolina,  James  Pennewill  ('75), 
of  Delaware,  Bayard  Henry  ('76),  of  Pennsylvania, 
Walter  Lloyd  Smith  ('77),  of  New  York,  and  Frank  S. 
Katzenbach,  Jr.  ('89),  of  New  Jersey. 

Of  the  very  large  number  of  the  sons  of  Clio  who 
have  served  in  the  Christian  ministry  with  distinguished 
success,  only  some  of  the  more  notable  can  be  named. 
At  the  head  of  our  list  may  be  placed  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards and  Theodore  Dirck  Romeyn,  both  of  the  class 
of  1765,  who,  besides  their  repute  as  preachers,  had 
much  to  do  with  the  founding  of  Union  College.  Then, 
also  of  the  earlier  day,  may  be  mentioned  Nathan 
Perkins  (1770)  of  Connecticut,  James  Hall  ('74),  of 
North  Carolina,  Gilbert  T.  Snowden  ('83),  of  New 
Jersey,  George  S.  WoodhuU  ('90),  of  New  Jersey,  and 
Henry  KoUock  ('94),  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  nineteenth 
century  these  may  be  named:  William  Meade  ('08),  of 
Virginia,  Bishop  of  Virginia,  Charles  P.  Mcllvaine 
('16),  of  New  Jersey,  President  of  Kenyon  College  and 
Bishop  of  Ohio,  Edward  N.  Kirk  ('20),  of  New  York, 
Samuel  K.  Talmage  ('20),  of  New  Jersey,  President  of 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  WS 

Oglesthorpe  College,  Luther  H.  VanDoren  ('31),  of 
New  York,  President  of  Columbian  College  (Mo.), 
Charles  S.  Dod  ('33),  of  New  York,  President  of  West 
Tennessee  College,  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus  ('34),  of 
New  Jersey,  professor  in  the  Allegheny  Theological 
Seminary,  Theodore  Ledyard  Cuyler  ('41),  of  New 
York,  Elijah  R.  Craven  ('4^),  Peter  A.  Studdiford 
('49),  of  New  Jersey,  William  C.  Roberts  ('55),  Presi- 
dent of  Lake  Forest  University,  Joseph  T.  Duryea 
C56)y  of  New  York,  Alfred  H.  Kellogg  ('59),  of 
Pennsylvania,  James  M.  Ludlow  ('61),  of  New  Jersey, 
James  Forsyth  Riggs  ('7S),  of  Turkey,  Henry  van 
Dyke  ('73),  Howard  Duffield  ('73),  of  New  Jersey, 
Simon  J.  McPherson  ('74),  of  New  York,  John  P. 
Campbell  ('75),  of  New  York,  John  P.  Coyle  ('75),  of 
Pennsylvania,  George  B.  Stewart  ('76),  of  Ohio,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  Melancthon 
W.  Jacobus  ('77),  of  Pennsylvania,  President  of  the 
Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  Wilton  Merle  Smith 
('77),  of  New  York,  Luther  D.  Wishard  ('77),  of 
Indiana,  organizer  of  the  College  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  founder  of  the  Young  People's 
Missionary  movement,  Chalmers  Martin  ('79),  of  New 
Jersey,  Caesar  Augustus  R.  Janvier  ('80),  of  India, 
and  Robert  E.  Speer  ('89),  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 


204  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

Of  the  hundreds  of  Cliosophians  that  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  practice  and  the  teaching  of  medicine 
and  sanitary  science,  a  few  names  only  of  some  of  those 
of  greatest  repute  and  accomplishment  can  be  cited. 
These  include:  Isaac  Alexander  (177^),  of  South  Caro- 
lina, William  D.  McKissack  (1802),  of  New  Jersey, 
Samuel  Colhoun  ('04),  of  Pennsylvania,  George  Hol- 
combe  ('95),  of  New  Jersey,  Jos.  S.  Dodd  ('13),  of 
New  Jersey,  George  M.  Maclean  ('24),  of  New  Jersey, 
Samuel  H.  Pennington  ('25),  of  New  Jersey,  Richard 
D.  Arnold  ('26),  of  Georgia,  Josiah  Simpson  ('33),  of 
New  Jersey,  Edward  Hartshorne  ('37),  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, John  J.  Crane  ('40),  of  Connecticut,  Frederick 
P.  Giger  ('41),  of  Maryland,  Robert  K.  Stone  ('42), 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Edward  Shippen  ('45),  of 
New  Jersey,  Frank  Sorrell  ('46),  of  Georgia,  John  R. 
Everhart  ('50),  of  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  Jones  ('53), 
of  Georgia,  General  Alfred  A.  WoodhuU  ('56),  of  New 
Jersey,  David  Magie  ('59),  of  New  York,  Woolsey 
Johnson  ('60),  of  New  York,  WiUiam  H.  King  ('62), 
of  Texas,  John  D.  McGill  ('67),  of  New  Jersey,  Joseph 
C.  Guernsey  ('70),  of  Pennsylvania,  Mason  F.  Williams 
('71),  of  New  Jersey,  James  H.  Lloyd  ('73),  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Richard  W.  Johnson  ('76),  of  Minnesota, 
Moses  Allen  Starr  ('76),  of  New  York,  Theodore  Pot- 
ter ('82),  of  Indiana,  William  D.  Bell  ('85),  of  Kansas, 
Porter  R.  McMaster  ('88),  of  New  York,  F.  R.  Bailey 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  W5 

('9^),  of  New  Jersey,  and  Bertram  V.  D.  Post  ('93), 
of  Syria.  All  of  these  men,  and  others  many,  attained 
marked  distinction  in  their  profession;  contributing  to 
its  advancement,  writing  for  its  journals,  teaching  in 
its  colleges,  and  rendering  many  and  various  services 
to  nation.  State,  and  municipality. 

A  notable  array  of  Cliosophians  have  been  busy  and 
influential  in  educational  endeavor.  Many  of  the  men 
already  named  as  great  in  law,  in  the  ministry,  and  in 
medicine,  gave  much  of  their  time  and  strength  to  teach- 
ing. But  a  goodly  number  of  Clio's  graduates  have 
devoted  their  lives  to  the  cause  of  higher  education,  of 
whom  only  a  few  of  the  more  distinguished  can  be  speci- 
fied: Philip  Lindsley  (1804),  long  professor  and  vice- 
president  of  Princeton  and  President  of  the  University 
of  Nashville;  John  Maclean  ('16),  who  served  Prince- 
ton all  his  life,  one  of  the  great  figures  in  the  history 
of  the  institution;  William  P.  Finley  ('^0),  President 
of  the  College  of  South  Carolina;  Albert  B.  Dod  ('2^), 
one  of  Princeton's  best  beloved  professors;  John  S. 
Hart  ('30),  John  S.  Schanck  ('40),  John  T.  Duffield 
('41),  and  George  Musgrave  Giger  ('41),  leading  pro- 
fessors at  Princeton;  James  C.  Welling  ('44),  professor 
at  Princeton  and  President  later  of  St.  John's  College, 
Maryland,  and  of  the  Columbian  University  at  Wash- 
ington; James  Morgan  Hart  ('60),  long  professor  at 
Cincinnati  and  Cornell;  Thomas  C.  Hall  ('79),  pro- 


20&  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

fessor  at  the  Union  Theological  Seminary;  Max  Far- 
rand  ('92),  professor  at  Yale;  and  Theodore  W.  Hunt 
('65),  Henry  van  Dyke  ('73),  Samuel  Ross  Winans 
('74),  Andrew  F.  West  ('74),  William  Libbey  ('77), 
William  F.  Magie  ('79)  ;  Henry  B.  Fine  ('80),  James 
Mark  Baldwin  ('84),  H.  D.  Thompson  ('85),  Roger 
B.  C.  Johnson  ('87),  W.  A.  Wyckoff  ('88),  H.  C.  War- 
ren ('89),  Edmund  Y.  Bobbins  ('89),  Fred  Neher 
('89),  J.  P.  Hoskins  ('91),  W.  U.  Vreeland  ('92),  H. 
F.  Covington  ('92),  W.  K.  Prentice  ('92),  George  A. 
Hulett  ('92),  V.  L.  Collins  ('92),  J.  B.  Carter  ('93), 
Ulric  Dahlgren  ('94),  L.  H.  Miller  ('97),  and  David 
Magie  Jr.  ('97),  all  professors  of  Princeton. 

All  together,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  gradu- 
ates of  Clio  have  at  one  time  or  another  and  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods  been  members  of  the  Faculty  of 
Princeton.  Of  course,  in  addition  to  this  number,  there 
have  been  many  honorary  members  of  Clio  in  the  Fac- 
ulty, some  of  whom,  like  John  Maclean,  senior,  W.  A. 
Packard,  Cyrus  F.  Brackett,  and  Francis  L.  Patton, 
were  most  loyal  in  their  support  of  the  Hall.  More- 
over, something  like  fifty  graduates  of  Clio  have  served 
on  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College  or  University. 
Here,  too,  it  may  appropriately  be  recalled  that  the 
most  munificent  single  benefactor  of  Princeton  was  a 
Cliosophian,  Isaac  Chauncey  Wyman,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  graduated  in  1848. 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  207 

Many  of  the  men  just  named,  jurists,  divines,  physi- 
cians, professors,  were  busy  likewise  with  their  pens, 
contributing  in  special  articles  or  public  addresses,  and 
in  innumerable  books,  to  the  lore  and  the  literature  of 
their  particular  departments  of  intellectual  endeavor. 
It  would  be  tiresome  to  specify  even  the  titles  of  their 
countless  publications.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  name  all 
the  sons  of  Clio  who  have  enriched  the  general  litera- 
ture of  our  country.  But  some  few  names  must  be 
given:  Parke  Godwin  ('34),  George  H.  Boker  ('4S), 
William  C.  Prime  ('43),  Charles  G.  Leland  ('45), 
Adrian  H.  Joline  ('70),  Henry  van  Dyke  ('73),  Bolton 
Hall  ('75),  W.  J.  Henderson  ('76),  Edwin  M.  Royle 
('83),  Vance  Thompson  ('83),  James  M.  Baldwin 
('84),  W.  A.  Wyckoff  ('88),  Max  Farrand  ('92),  and 
Latta  Griswold  ('01). 

Of  course,  it  would  be  preposterous  to  claim  that  the 
greatness  or  distinction  of  these  men,  and  of  others  not 
named,  was  due  to  the  training  and  experience  they  re- 
ceived in  Clio  Hall.  The  most  that  can  be  said  is  that 
this  training  and  experience  contributed  in  a  real  and 
practical  way  to  the  development  of  their  powers,  to 
their  facility  in  giving  expression  to  their  thoughts,  to 
their  knowledge  of  the  workings  of  public  assemblies,  to 
their  readiness  in  dealing  with  their  fellows.  It  did  for 
them  something  that  the  classroom  exercises  could  not 
do;  helped  them  in  many  ways  to  find  themselves,  to 


S08  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

test  their  abilities,  to  learn  to  use  their  knowledge,  to 
increase  their  capacity  for  discussion,  and  to  develop 
their  skill  in  meeting  new  and  unexpected  points  of  op- 
position or  controversy.  Letters  from  graduates,  after 
they  had  gained  success  and  distinction  in  their  pro- 
fessions or  in  public  life,  which  are  scattered  through 
the  minutes,  abound  in  expressions  of  obligation  to  the 
Hall  for  the  benefits  that  it  had  conferred  in  intellectual 
stimulus  and  moral  influence,  in  rhetorical  training  and 
parliamentary  experience,  and  in  creating  and  fostering 
friendships.  Many  men,  indeed,  have  felt  that  what 
they  had  gained  from  their  efforts  in  Hall  was  of  larger 
value  to  them  in  after  life  than  their  attainment  in  any 
single  course  of  study  in  College. 

The  great  sons  of  Clio  have  not  owed  their  greatness 
to  Clio  any  more  than  they  have  owed  it  to  their  alma 
mater.  But  Clio  as  well  as  Alma  Mater  had  her  part — 
and  a  worthy  part — in  their  development.  They  were 
stronger  men,  or  sooner  became  aware  of  their  strength, 
because  of  their  training  under  the  discipline  of  Clio 
and  because  of  the  experience  they  had  gained  in  the 
clash  of  mind  with  mind  in  the  varied  exercises  of  the 
Hall.  And  Clio  has  a  right  to  be  proud  of  them;  to 
have  the  same  sort  of  pride  in  them  that  Alma  Mater 
cherishes.  They  are  part  of  our  history,  our  heritage, 
our  possession.  They  compass  us  about,  a  great  cloud 
of  witnesses.     Such  and  such  were  the  Cliosophians  of 


THE  SONS  OF  CLIO  209 

other  days,  we  may  proudly  boast.  They  were  our 
elder  brothers.  They  have  left  us  a  splendid  tradi- 
tion. Their  example  and  achievements  should  be  a  spur 
to  those  that  follow  after  along  the  way  where  aforetime 
their  feet  found  pleasant  passage. 

And  all  that  Clio  has  been  and  has  done  in  the  long 
years  that  have  elapsed,  since  the  handful  of  earnest 
young  men  first  gathered  for  debate  and  literary  effort 
in  that  little  upper  room  of  Old  Nassau,  should  rein- 
force the  determination  to  maintain  the  Cliosophic 
tradition  unimpaired  and  to  pass  it  along  to  future 
generations  of  students  in  full  vigor  and  effectiveness. 
Methods  may  change  as  they  have  changed  in  the  past; 
antiquated  forms  may  yield  place  to  new.  But  the  old 
spirit,  the  old  ideals  should  endure. 

Always  there  will  be  need  of  such  a  forum  as  the  Hall 
affords;  for  rhetorical  and  elocutionary  practice,  for 
free  discussion  of  the  questions,  old  and  new,  that  in- 
terest young  men,  and,  not  the  least,  for  the  oppor- 
tunities it  offers  for  gaining  practical  familiarity  with 
parliamentary  rules  and  methods. 

The  Halls,  in  all  probability,  can  never  be  restored 
to  the  commanding  place  in  undergraduate  life  and 
affection  that  they  so  long  occupied.  Princeton  is  no 
longer  a  college  but  a  great  university.  Simplicity  has 
made  way  for  complexity  and  widening  diversity  of 
interests     and    aims.       Innumerable    extra-curriculum 


210  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

activities  and  associations  have  gradually  come  into 
being  and  make  their  demands  upon  the  time  and  the 
attention  of  the  students.  Undoubtedly,  too,  the  life 
of  the  clubs,  with  the  intimate  relations  it  fosters  among 
particular  groups  of  students,  tends  to  weaken  the 
appeal  of  the  Halls.  But  the  Halls,  the  most  ancient 
literary  societies  in  America,  offer  what  no  other  asso- 
ciation of  students  in  the  University  can  offer  or  at- 
tempts to  offer.  And  their  place  should  be  secure.  The 
greatness  of  their  extended  history,  the  solidity  and 
permanent  worth  of  their  achievement,  and  the  im- 
portance and  practical  value  of  the  culture  they  ex- 
emplify and  impart,  should  be  a  guaranty  of  their 
perpetuity  and  continuing  prosperity. 


AFTERWORD 

The  task  laid  upon  me  by  the  committee  is  completed, 
as  well  as  it  has  seemed  possible  for  me  to  complete  it. 
I  am  aware  that  my  accomplishment  may  fall  short  in 
many  particulars.  The  progress  and  activities  of  any 
human  institution  during  a  century  and  a  half  present 
such  a  multitude  of  facts,  such  a  diversity  of  policies, 
such  a  multiplicity  of  controversies,  so  many  and  so 
various  points  of  contact  with  other  interests,  that  it 
is  difficult  to  keep  within  reasonable  limits  in  tracing 
their  causes  and  courses.  I  have  not  attempted  any- 
thing exhaustive — or,  I  hope,  exhausting.  What  I  have 
sought  to  do  is  to  give  an  accurate  (as  I  trust)  sum- 
mary of  the  principal  facts  of  the  origin  and  develop- 
ment of  the  Cliosophic  Society,  and  to  present  an 
interpretation  of  the  spirit  which  has  permeated  its 
endeavors  in  different  periods  of  its  long  life.  If  I  have 
not  succeeded  in  this,  I  have  not  succeeded  at  all. 

And  this  has  not  been  an  easy  task  to  perform.  The 
Society  has  not  been  careful  in  the  preservation  of  rec- 
ords. Innumerable  documents,  in  manuscript  or  in 
print,  reports  of  committees  on  the  early  history  of 
the  Society,  letters  from  early  members,  transcripts 
of  laws  and  regulations,  of  treaties  and  conventions, 

211 


212  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

have  disappeared  or  been  cast  as  rubbish  to  the  void. 
One  might  suppose,  at  first  thought,  that  all  such  rec- 
ords would  have  been  carefully  retained ;  and  with  them 
a  copy  of  every  catalogue  of  the  hall  library,  of  every 
catalogue  of  members,  of  every  document  or  pamphlet 
printed  by  the  Society,  either  alone  or  in  conjunction 
with  the  American  Whig  Society ;  and  that  there  should 
have  been  preserved  likewise  a  sample  of  every  form  of 
the  diploma,  of  every  badge  and  key  and  medal.  But 
this  has  not  been  done;  perhaps,  as  I  have  intimated, 
could  not  after  all  have  been  expected,  because  the 
membership  changes  so  rapidly  and  officers  exercise 
authority  for  such  brief  periods. 

It  has  been  a  wearisome  undertaking  to  read  volume 
after  volume  of  the  minutes  of  the  Society,  and  yet  one 
constantly  lightened  by  passages  which  gave  insight 
into  thoughts  and  conditions  that  long  ago  dropped 
out  of  the  minds  of  youth  or  ceased  entirely  to  exist. 
Often  the  hand  paused  before  turning  the  next  leaf, 
while  the  imagination  was  busy  in  trying  to  visualize 
some  ancient  meeting  of  the  Hall  in  the  little  chamber 
of  Old  Nassau  or  the  upper  north  room  of  Stanhope 
Hall.  A  wood  fire  was  crackling  on  the  hearth  or  roar- 
ing in  the  stove ;  candles  in  sconces  or  branched  candle- 
sticks, or  "patent  lamps"  of  reeking  sperm  oil,  were 
shedding  dim  light ;  the  close  air  of  the  room  was  heavy 
and  somnolent;  the  chairs  and  settees  were  filled  with 


AFTERWORD  213 

young  figures  in  gowns;  and  a  youth,  afterward  to  be 
famous  in  church  or  State,  whose  bones  have  long  been 
dust,  rejoicing  in  the  fictitious  name  of  Themistocles 
or  Sempronius,  was  rising  to  a  point  of  order,  or  read- 
ing from  the  Spectator^  or  declaiming  an  oration,  or 
debating  the  relative  merits  of  Alexander  and  Caesar 
or  the  tremendously  important  question  whether  stu- 
dents should  cultivate  "female"  society.  Then  the  curt 
and  jejune  records  were  aglow  with  interest  and  illumi- 
nation, and  the  intense,  throbbing  life  of  far-off  student 
days,  with  its  forgotten  rivalries,  its  "hoaxing"  esca- 
pades, its  eager  hopes  and  ambitions — all,  all  sunk  now 
in  "Lethe's  dreamless  ooze" — seemed  once  more  to  be 
astir  in  the  world. 

And  when  I  came  down  to  later  years — ah,  they  too 
are  now  remote! — to  my  own  time  in  College,  I  found 
myself  turning  the  leaves  with  ever  increasing  reluctance 
and  deliberation,  as  requickened  memory  lingered  over 
the  trials  and  the  triumphs  of  far  away  hall  nights  in 
which  the  youth  that  was  I  had  share.  Names  that 
memory  had  long  let  slip  again  came  into  consciousness ; 
figures  that  had  grown  vague  and  shadowy  resumed 
their  form  and  force.  I  seemed  to  feel  once  more  the 
warm  touch  of  vanished  hands — pulseless  now,  dust 
now ;  to  hear  once  more  the  sound  of  voices  that  I  loved 
— still  now,  long,  long  still.  (I  think  of  many  as  I 
write;  but  most  tenderly  of  all  of  that  rare  soul  and 


214  THE  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY 

true,  long  faithful  and  efBcient  in  his  service  to  Alma 
Mater  and  to  Clio,  my  dearest  college  friend  and  stead- 
fast friend  of  long  years  that  followed,  Samuel  Ross 
Winans  ('74),  of  blessed  memory.) 

Yes,  there  was  weariness  in  laboring  through  the 
heavy  volumes  of  the  minutes,  but  relieved  at  sudden 
intervals  with  melancholy  pleasure  which  was  ample 
compensation.  If  out  of  the  records  what  I  have  here 
gathered  together  and  woven  into  orderly  texture  shall 
interest  my  fellow  Cliosophians,  I  shall  feel  that  my 
time  was  not  ill  spent.  My  conviction  of  the  value  and 
importance  of  the  Cliosophic  Society,  as  an  instru- 
mentality of  training  and  culture  for  young  men  in 
their  university  years,  has  been  deepened  and  strength- 
ened by  my  study  of  the  long  record  of  its  activities 
and  achievement.  And  what  I  say  of  Clio  in  this  re- 
spect, I  would  say  likewise  of  the  American  Whig 
Society.  The  work  of  both  has  been  substantially  the 
same.  They  have  been  the  two  wings  of  the  army  of 
Old  Nassau,  both  fighting  alike  under  the  same  banner, 
both  rejoicing  to  place  above  their  own  colors  and  motto 
the  orange  and  black  and  the  Oranje  hoven  of  Alma 
Mater,  A  classmate  of  mine,  a  Whig,  has  told  me  that 
his  father  who  was  of  Yale  decided  to  send  his  sons  to 
Princeton  in  preference  to  his  own  college,  because  here 
at  Princeton  the  two  ancient  literary  societies  were 
still  active  forces  in  the  life  of  the  College.     He  be- 


AFTERWORD  215 

lieved  the  training  they  gave  supplemented  the  work 
of  the  classroom  in  a  most  helpful  and  desirable  way. 
And  that  judgment  was  sound;  justified  by  long  ob- 
servation and  experience;  testified  to  by  innumerable 
men  that  had  enjoyed  their  privileges  and  rejoiced  in 
the  benefit  of  their  discipline. 

I  for  one  cannot  doubt  that  they  are  still  needed, 
still  have  their  distinctive  place  and  work  to  fill  and  to 
do.  Let  them  live  on  in  perpetual  youth  and  vigor, 
faithful  to  the  spirit  of  their  long  and  honorable  his- 
tory !  And  Clio — may  she  be  true  always  to  her  tradi- 
tion of  honest  effort;  true  always  to  her  noble  motto, 
Prodesse  quam  Conspici! 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 
Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  mimediate  recall. 

REC'DLD    NOV     972  "^  AM  6  0 


^      MAR  2  5 1997 


-    JUNs0  5l99?EP 


HAY  0  8  1997 


<GULATION  DCP-r 


J 


il^.-.S',  DcnrvtLtY  LIbHARIES 


Mg^^tya^i^'^'^^^W 


CDS7=Jflllb3 


356654 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


